Bartlett has let its contract for seven of the village's 15 Flock Safety license plate cameras expire, choosing not to renew a $65,500 proposal that would have kept those cameras running and added five more. The decision leaves the northwest Chicago suburb without roughly half its automated license plate reader network, even as village leaders insist the move has nothing to do with how local police have used the technology.
A $65,500 Proposal Rejected
The contract for the seven cameras had technically expired in late July, but camera operations were temporarily extended while trustees weighed whether to renew, according to the Daily Herald. Bartlett first began using Flock cameras four years ago, in 2022, but the newspaper reports the renewal proposal — which would have added five new cameras on top of the seven existing ones — ultimately lacked broad support among trustees. As reported by CBS Chicago, Bartlett's remaining eight Flock cameras are split between two separate contracts, and village officials are still deciding what to do with those.
Bartlett Village President Dan Gunsteen said the decision was driven by concerns over Flock Safety's internal corporate safeguards, not by any misconduct within the Bartlett Police Department. The board maintains “110% faith in the Bartlett Police Department,” Gunsteen said, per the same account. Bartlett Police Chief Ryan Conway confirmed the department maintains 100% compliance with internal audit requirements, according to the Daily Herald's reporting.
Residents Pushed Back Before the Vote
Community opposition had been building for weeks. Ten residents testified against the automated license plate readers during an August Bartlett village board meeting, the Daily Herald reports, with concerns intensifying after reports of ALPR misuse surfaced in neighboring suburbs.
Those concerns are not hypothetical. The Washington Post reported in August that police officers nationwide have been accused in at least 46 instances of misusing Flock's license plate camera network, according to CBS Chicago, including allegations that officers used the system to stalk women. In Illinois, officers in Channahon, Berkeley, Holiday Hills, West Chicago and Joliet are under investigation for allegedly misusing Flock systems, the outlet reports, while a Kenosha, Wisconsin sheriff's deputy was charged with using Flock cameras to track a fellow deputy he was dating. In Homer Glen, Illinois, the village announced it suspended use of its Flock system pending an investigation by the Will County Sheriff's Office after a deputy there was placed on administrative leave for allegedly misusing the system, per CBS Chicago. Police officers in Michigan City, Indiana are also under investigation for allegedly misusing Flock systems, the station notes.
Not Every Suburb Is Backing Away
Bartlett's move is not unanimous across the region. The Will County Board renewed Flock contracts in Mokena, Manhattan, Frankfort, Crete, Naperville and Wilmington, CBS Chicago reports, and Harvey expanded its Flock contract to include drones. Meanwhile, nearby Elgin has taken a different approach entirely: Police Chief Ana Lalley announced this month that the city avoids doing business with Flock Safety altogether, instead operating 27 cameras from Genetec and Axon — vendors that do not pool data into Flock's shared network — according to the Daily Herald. An internal audit of 14,000 search records since 2023 in Elgin found zero instances of officer misuse, the paper reports.
Part of a Wider Illinois Reckoning
Bartlett joins a growing list of Chicago-area communities reconsidering their relationships with Flock Safety. Oak Park and Evanston terminated their Flock contracts in 2025 following resident privacy concerns and data-sharing objections, according to the Daily Northwestern. And opposition hasn't stayed confined to council chambers: in nearby Lisle, three men were charged in July with stealing and vandalizing Flock cameras, the Daily Herald notes, part of a pattern of physical backlash against surveillance hardware reported across multiple states.
Other northern Illinois communities — including Bloomingdale, West Chicago, Itasca and Rolling Meadows — have also seen activity involving Flock cameras this year. Under Illinois law, specifically 625 ILCS 5/2-130, automated license plate reader data collected in the state cannot be accessed for federal immigration enforcement or for investigating out-of-state lawful reproductive healthcare, according to the Illinois Attorney General's office.
A National Company Under Growing Scrutiny
Founded in Atlanta in 2017, Flock Safety has grown into a company valued at about $8.4 billion, operating more than 100,000 ALPR cameras and serving about 12,000 customers, including 7,000 police departments and 5,000 private-sector clients, according to Inc. Magazine. Nationally, several municipal jurisdictions have suspended or canceled Flock Safety camera programs, as elected officials increasingly treat surveillance technology procurement as a decision requiring public oversight rather than a routine vendor renewal.
For now, Bartlett's decision leaves open questions about what happens next. Village officials have not said what will become of the two remaining Flock camera contracts covering the village's other eight cameras, according to CBS Chicago, and it remains unclear how — or whether — Bartlett plans to fill any gap in traffic monitoring left by the seven expired cameras.
