Monee officials have approved an Intergovernmental Agreement with Will County that allows the village to install Automated License Plate Readers along Monee-Manhattan Road.
Manufactured by Flock Safety and commonly referred to as Flock cameras or ALPRs, they are not new to the village.
Approximately 11 Flock camera readers are located in the Monee area, the first installed in December 2024.
The most recent cameras were installed this summer.
The solar-powered or stationary cameras take point-in-time still images of vehicles on public roads. They use artificial intelligence to capture a “vehicle fingerprint,” and record the license plate, make, model, color, and time/location stamp. They are manufactured and intended for law enforcement use to assist with criminal investigations, replacing general mass surveillance or facial recognition.
“This agreement gives us the ability to install these objects in certain areas on behalf of the village,” attorney Larry Gryczewski told the board of trustees. “There is also a provision that we have to indemnify Will County with respect to this matter.
“Also, if Will County asks us to remove them, we’ll have to remove them at any time.
“And finally, the data is subject to the Freedom of Information Act. So, if someone wanted copies of the data, they could receive it. And if they do receive it, we also have to send a copy to Will County.”
The IGA was approved with almost no discussion.
One trustee asked if it was Monee or Will County that wanted to install the cameras.
“Monee wants to put them in, but it’s on Will County’s property,” Gryczewski said.
The vote was unanimous.
Monee Police Chief Scott Koerner later acknowledged the controversy recently surrounding the cameras but defended their use.
“We have an IGA with the county because Monee-Manhattan Road is their jurisdiction,” he said. “To utilize our Flocks in that area, we must have their approval.
“There was some contention on the County Board about abuse of the Flock system. Unfortunately, there have been a couple of officers in the area who misused the system. They are now facing the court system.
“Social media has greatly exaggerated the abuse and has implied that local police are providing information to ICE, which is not true,” he said.
“There are hundreds of examples in Will County alone where Flock License Plate Readers were instrumental in the identification and apprehension of felony suspects. Even here in Monee, we have identified and located several offenders through the Flock systems.
“Elimination of these systems would definitely hinder us in our investigative efforts. There are several legal updates in Illinois that ensure all law enforcement agencies follow protocol when utilizing Flock.
“We support the system utilization and recognize the potential for abuse,” he said. “Stricter legislation is intended to hold us accountable. We have no issue with that.”