Cook County has not enacted a facial recognition ban. Statewide, the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14) tightly regulates collection and storage of facial geometry and other biometric identifiers by private entities, requiring written consent and a public retention schedule with statutory damages for violations.
Cook County and most suburban municipalities have not adopted facial recognition prohibitions like San Francisco, Oakland, or Boston. The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (740 ILCS 14), enacted in 2008, instead regulates how private entities collect, store, and disclose facial geometry, fingerprints, voiceprints, and similar identifiers. BIPA requires written informed consent before collection, a publicly available retention and destruction schedule, and bars selling biometric data. Government agencies are exempt as private-entity targets, but county vendors handling biometrics often face BIPA-style controls. Statutory damages of $1,000 negligent and $5,000 intentional drive class-action litigation. The Illinois Supreme Court confirmed each scan is a separate violation.
Private businesses scanning faces or fingerprints without written informed consent or a public retention policy violate 740 ILCS 14 and face $1,000 to $5,000 damages per violation. Class actions have produced eight-figure settlements in biometric privacy litigation.
See how Evanston's facial recognition ban rules stack up against other locations.
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