U of I Illegally Concealed Locations of License Plate Cameras

Sample images from University of Illinois license plate readers, as well as their locations

According to a determination issued by the Illinois Attorney General, the University of Illinois violated state law when they refused to provide information about their automatic license plate readers (ALPRs).

After learning that the U of I had installed five ALPRs in the campus area, Check CU sent a request in February of 2022 seeking information about the locations and imaging capabilities of those cameras. U of I’s Chief Records Officer Kirsten Ruby first issued an extension on the request saying they needed more time to locate the records, then after two weeks fully denied the request.

ALPRs have become a hotly contested issue in Central Illinois over the past few years. A number of localities have installed them, including the City of Champaign, the Champaign County Sheriff’s Office, the Village of Rantoul, the City of Danville, and many more. Wherever they are installed, it seems everyone is using technology from the same company: Flock Safety. This has resulted in a nation-wide interconnected surveillance system that can track cars anywhere that Flock equipment is adopted. The City of Urbana is the only Central Illinois locality we know of which has considered ALPRs, but ultimately voted against them.

Ruby argued that disclosure of the records “would disclose unique specialized investigative techniques…and would result in demonstrable harm to [the U of I]”. She also argued that ALPRs counted as “security measures…that are designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community’s population or systems, facilities, or installations, the destruction or contamination of which would constitute a clear and present danger to the health or safety of the community”.

After Ruby’s records denial, Check CU sent a request for review to the Public Access Counselor, arguing that the ALPR cameras “are positioned outdoors to view public streets…are clearly visible to the naked eye…are being used to continuously photograph and log the locations of every vehicle that passes them. The public has an interest in knowing where these cameras are located, and what they are capable of seeing.”

On September 1^st, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Teresa Lim issued a determination that the U of I had violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by refusing to provide records related to their ALPRs.

Lim said that “the legislative history behind [the exemption cited by the U of I] shows that the provision was aimed at records involved in counterterrorism plans”.

Lim went on to cite an unlawful denial issued by the City of DeKalb in response to a FOIA request for ALPR locations:

“Although the cameras served a security function, this office determined that the city failed to provide facts to “establish the element of the LPR camera locations being designed to address potential attacks upon the City’s population or systems, facilities, or installations. Rather, the City demonstrated that the LPR camera placements are designed to identify vehicles that are involved in commonplace, smaller-scale criminal activity, such as theft.” Ill. Att’y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 71393, at 5.”

Lim also cited another FOIA determination issued by a federal court:

“Vague and conclusory assertions that give no explanation of how the information, if released, could risk circumvention of the law, no explanation of what laws would purportedly be circumvented, and little detail regarding what law enforcement purpose is involved are inadequate to justify withholding records under the FOIA.”

Lim concluded: “The University did not provide specific facts or any examples to illustrate how the records show unique techniques or other specialized information about the police department’s methods for investigating crimes. Indeed, the use of license-plate reading cameras to identify the owners of vehicles involved in traffic offenses is a basic investigatory technique already known to the public.”

Though AAG Lim directed Kirsten Ruby to release the records to Check CU, she failed to do so for another month and only after we made additional follow up.

The full determination issued by AAG Lim is provided below, as well as the ALPR records we sought.