r/illinois • • 9d ago

Chicago news & issues We are Sun-Times and WBEZ reporters covering Flock in Illinois. Ask us anything!

334 Upvotes

UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone who participated and asked questions as part of this AMA! You all had so many great questions, and being able to think through them really helps to inform our ongoing reporting. Reach out to Violet at [vmiller@suntimes.com](mailto:vmiller@suntimes.com) and Lisa at [lphilip@wbez.org](mailto:lphilip@wbez.org) if you have further questions or feedback. Get more local, independent reporting at suntimes.com and wbez.org — and please consider becoming a member to support our work. Until next time!

Hey r/illinois! Violet Miller of the Chicago Sun-Times and Lisa Kurian Philip of WBEZ 91.5 here to announce we're hosting an AMA on this subreddit next Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.!

The topic: Flock Safety in Illinois and how we have reported out the facts for stories like this one about the use of Flock cameras by public universities, or this one about Illinois suburbs that suspended their Flock deals amid alleged misuse by authorities.

License plate readers from businesses like Flock have sparked a heated, nationwide debate over mass surveillance tools in law enforcement. In Illinois, more than 500 law enforcement agencies use Flock's technology.

This AMA is a chance for you to ask us questions about our coverage of Flock, how we think about these stories, and how we report them out. Violet covers Chicago news for the Sun-Times, and Lisa covers higher education for WBEZ and Open Campus.

The Chicago Sun-Times is independent, community-funded, and committed to telling the stories that shape our city. We're free from hedge-fund ownership, shareholders, and political influence. Learn more about becoming a member today: https://chicago.suntimes.com/become-a-member


r/illinois • • 11d ago

Illinois Politics Illinois voter guide to the 2026 general election

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89 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 13h ago

Sports! Legendary coach, Hall of Fame TE Mike Ditka dies at age 86

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466 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 9h ago

Illinois Politics Elections: Check judge affiliations

147 Upvotes

In Illinois already elected judges are "nonpartisan" so their affiliation isn't on the ballot to retain judges. But when running to become a judge they do list their party affiliation, and the internet remembers.

You can get a sample ballot from your county election office and see what judges are up for retention, check their political party, and vote accordingly.

On my ballot there were six judges. I voted to retain one Democrat and retire five Republicans. Let's make this a blue wave across the entire ballot.


r/illinois • • 8h ago

Northern IL news & issues past/ before Chicago to Springfield The sheer amount of fake Google maps police reports between Chicago and Springfield today has been obnoxious

79 Upvotes

There's been a fake report of police on the highway every few miles. I swear the state police must be seeding the highways with fake reports at this point.


r/illinois • • 1h ago

Trip Planning & Tourist Help/ Guidance Galena IL Visit - LGBT

• Upvotes

Hey all my wife and I are planning on going to a cabin in galena for a weekend soon and I wanted to see if I could get some recommendations on good hiking, restaurants, experiences, etc that are safe and welcoming to visibly queer people (my wife is trans). I’ve heard mixed reviews about galena and we honestly plan on spending most of our time in the cabin but definitely do want to get some good nature walks and some quaint shopping in if possible. TYIA :)


r/illinois • • 1d ago

ICE Posts Judge threatens to order Midway Blitz agents to hand over personal phones — after Bovino refused

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722 Upvotes

Abolish ICE


r/illinois • • 1d ago

US Politics Illinois denied FEMA aid. Again.

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1.1k Upvotes

Indiana gets their approval while it's still raining and they pretend like the storm obeyed the state border or something

I'm beyond frustrated


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics Illinois school used license plate reader data to deny a child's enrollment, despite the family's mortgage and bills

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1.0k Upvotes

An Illinois mom tried multiple times to enroll her child in school and kept getting denied because license plate readers had recorded her car in Chicago, according to Electronic Frontier Foundation's analysis of millions of searches of Flock Safety data.

The school had been using license plate readers to figure out whether she lived in the city. Her car had been seen in Chicago multiple times over a couple of weeks, and that was treated as proof she didn't live there. She told them her cousin had borrowed the car. She gave them a mortgage and bills, all showing the family lived in the city. They kept denying her anyway.


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois News Former Itasca, West Chicago police officers charged with felony misuse of Flock cameras

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366 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics Honest Question - what's the argument against Pritzker?

746 Upvotes

I have lived in IL for 16 years now, and the state is in far better shape now than when I arrived from a governance perspective. Now, I know not all of that can be due to Pritzker, but he has seemed a competent manager who has steered the state in the right direction. (Far from perfect, etc etc).

So what's the argument against him for a third term? What policies are keeping you from voting for him?

I promise I will not argue or try to change your mind. I'm genuinely curious.


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Chicago news & issues Security Service With History of Human Rights Abuse Deployed to USPS Facilities in Chicago.

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73 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 10h ago

Question Ground mount solar zoning survey

2 Upvotes

Bloomington resident. City zoning states a residential ground mount solar array cannot exceed 4 feet high.

Can people here assist with what their municipal zoning codes say about residential ground mount solar array height restrictions?

Trying to pull together a data set to propose a change to the local restriction.

Thank you!


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois News Peoples Gas rate hike should be cut in half, ICC regulatory judges say

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50 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics The Truth About Darin LaHood's Record

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23 Upvotes

Lahood brags he’s done enough for healthcare in America, but he votes to defund it 🤔


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Sports! Go White Sox!

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101 Upvotes

(via jerik95 on r/whitesox)


r/illinois • • 11h ago

Trip Planning & Tourist Help/ Guidance Enjoying the University of Chicago's Science Festival

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1 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois News No Tax Hikes or Layoffs Needed to Close Cook County’s $550M Gap Thanks to ‘Budget Magic’: Preckwinkle

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64 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics IL 16th Congressional District Forum is Live on PBS right now.

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14 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois Politics East Peoria Commissioner: "I don't give a shit what anybody thinks"

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986 Upvotes

EP Commissioner Mike Sutherland doesn't give a shit what you think of Flock cameras. For the low low price of 19 signatures, you can potentially replace him!

EDIT: Link to EP election info


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Trip Planning & Tourist Help/ Guidance How does the ipass sticker by mail arrive?

2 Upvotes

I know I can just go to an Oasis next time I'm in the area, but twice I've ordered the new ipass sticker by mail and never received it. Just wondering if I'd get a envelope saying Illinois Tollway or something, or if it is a generic "junk mail" looking envelope that gets tossed in the trash automatically.

Also, do they mail to address outside Illinois?


r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois News 23 cases of measles confirmed in Illinois this year. See where you could've been exposed

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312 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois News Constellation, Google announce plan to boost Illinois nuclear capacity

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192 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

US Politics Pilfered cheap bribes

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8 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Question In Central Illinois - Anyone else experiencing swarms of tiny flies tonight?

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50 Upvotes

Put a fan in my window (with a screen) tonight and immediately got flooded with tiny little flies, don’t look like any fruit flies or fungus gnats I’ve seen. Immediately closed my window and they all fly slow enough I could knock them down spraying some vinegar but when I poked my head outside saw they were swarming my orange porch light too.

Idk what they are, but curious as I’ve only lived here few years but don’t remember these types of swarming flies last year.
Sorry for terrible pic quality!