A trip to the bathroom at a Worth marijuana dispensary turned into the start of a criminal investigation after someone spotted a hidden camera inside the restroom, according to police in the southwest Chicago suburb.
Officers recovered the device and opened a probe, but so far authorities have not said who put the camera there or whether it actually captured any footage. The dispensary itself has not been publicly identified, and officials say the investigation is still underway.
According to CBS News Chicago, officers responded after the device was discovered, took the camera into evidence and turned the case over to detectives. The station did not name the business and did not specify when the camera might have been installed. Police have not released additional public details.
How the law treats secret recording
Illinois law takes hidden bathroom cameras seriously. Unauthorized video recording in restrooms and other private spaces is a crime, and knowingly recording or transmitting video of someone in a restroom can be charged as a felony. It is also unlawful to place a recording device in a restroom with the intent to record and to share or distribute footage that was made in violation of the law. Those prohibitions and the related sentencing rules are laid out in the state code, according to the Illinois General Assembly.
Regulatory obligations for dispensaries
The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation requires licensed dispensaries to follow approved security plans and to keep surveillance systems running that can help prevent theft and support investigations. IDFPR's fact sheet on recent cannabis law changes notes that, effective June 12, 2026, dispensaries may retain 60 days of security footage instead of 90, and that licensees should coordinate any changes to floor plans or systems with the agency. If investigators conclude that the hidden camera ties into a larger security breakdown, regulators could review whether the shop is complying with its licensed security plan.
Similar finds have rattled area businesses
Hidden cameras turning up in bathrooms is not a one-off problem in the Chicago area. In April, a concealed camera was discovered inside a Logan Square thrift store restroom, prompting a criminal investigation, NBC Chicago reported. In June, a man was arrested after a concealed phone was reportedly found recording inside a New Lenox church bathroom, according to Fox32. Those cases have kept law enforcement and business owners on edge about privacy violations and the stiff penalties that can follow.
What to expect as the probe continues
As the Worth case moves forward, investigators will likely preserve and forensically examine the recovered device and look for any nearby surveillance footage or access logs that might show who went in and out of the restroom. Regulators and prosecutors can draw on the state's unauthorized recording statute and dispensary security rules to decide what enforcement steps to take, including potential criminal charges or licensing actions.
Anyone who thinks they might have been recorded in connection with the incident is urged to contact local police, since the law spells out penalties for secretly recording people and for sharing footage that was obtained illegally, as detailed by the Illinois General Assembly.
