Burr Ridge Flock Contract Raises Data-Sharing Questions

Burr Ridge approved a nearly $1.3 million contract with Flock Safety on July 13, prompting questions about how automated license-plate-reader data may be shared and what written safeguards apply.

The Village Board approved the agreement unanimously, according to Patch’s July 14 report. Trustee Guy Franzese was absent but issued a statement supporting the action.

What the board approved

The board approved the Flock contract, but the public record reviewed does not clearly identify whether the nearly $1.3 million figure is an upfront payment, a multiyear total, or a combined amount for equipment, installation and service. The available materials also do not provide a complete camera-by-camera placement list, a full recurring-cost schedule or clear renewal terms.

Patch reported that several Burr Ridge subdivisions accepted the village’s offer of new police-surveillance cameras and that subdivisions with existing cameras did not decline. That indicates neighborhood participation was part of the rollout discussed by officials, but it does not establish that every proposed subdivision installation has been completed or that every installation is included in the approved amount.

The distinction matters: the July 13 vote approved the contract, while specific camera placement, subdivision participation and later deployment decisions may still require additional steps or agreements.

What was already in place

Burr Ridge was already using Flock license-plate-reader technology before the July vote. The Burr Ridge Police Department’s 2022 annual report said the cameras had helped detect and deter motor-vehicle thefts and that the village planned to deploy 20 more cameras in 2023.

A later village board record described several Flock cameras at or near village entrances and major intersections. In 2024, the board also authorized a separate five-year, $450,000 downtown public-safety camera project that included Flock equipment and other technology.

Those records establish prior local use and earlier expansion plans. They do not, by themselves, establish the final number or placement of cameras covered by the July 2026 contract.

How Burr Ridge describes data sharing

Police Chief Marc Loftus told Patch that Burr Ridge shares camera data with a number of agencies nationwide and receives reciprocal access. He said the department shares with an agency outside Illinois only when that agency has executed a declaration stating that automated-license-plate-reader information will not be used to interfere with lawful health care or to detain or investigate someone based on immigration status.

That is the police chief’s stated operating rule as reported by Patch. The public records reviewed for this article do not clearly show whether the declaration is incorporated into the Flock contract, adopted as a police policy, required through a separate data-sharing agreement or otherwise subject to an audit or enforcement process.

That distinction is important. A public statement, a department practice and a binding contract provision can provide different levels of accountability. The reviewed materials also do not establish a complete list of outside agencies that may query Burr Ridge data.

Why residents raised privacy concerns

Mary Bradley, president of the Carriage Way homeowners association, told the board that members had concerns about privacy and the possible sharing of information with federal agencies, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Resident Ethan Frankel also questioned whether the technology could be used for purposes unrelated to crime prevention. Patch reported that he cited Evanston’s withdrawal from a Flock contract and concerns raised by an Illinois state audit about data sharing with federal agencies. Those developments provide regional context for the questions raised in Burr Ridge, but they do not establish that Burr Ridge data has been accessed by immigration authorities.

What remains unclear

For residents and participating homeowners associations, the key unanswered questions are the contract’s exact term and renewal provisions; the breakdown of the nearly $1.3 million cost; the final number and placement of cameras; the retention period for captured data; who may access or query it; how outside agencies are approved; and whether access and sharing are audited.

The village’s agendas and minutes archive is the official place to check for the July 13 meeting record, later amendments and related documents. Based on the records reviewed, Burr Ridge has approved a substantial Flock contract and described limits on some out-of-state sharing, but the public record does not yet clearly establish all of the written safeguards residents would need to evaluate the program fully.

Sources

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