Oak Park, IL Privacy & Surveillance: License Plate Readers (2026)

Village Code section 19-6-2 requires the Police Department to obtain Village Board approval, following a public hearing where residents may submit written and verbal comments, before seeking grant funds for new surveillance technology, acquiring or borrowing it, using existing technology for a new purpose, or entering any agreement to share surveillance data with an outside entity. At least thirty days before that hearing, the department must submit a surveillance impact report and a proposed use policy to the Board; within twenty-four hours the report and policy must be posted on the Village's website and emailed to residents who requested notice.

Section 19-6-3 lets the Police Chief authorize temporary, unapproved use of surveillance technology, including license plate readers, during exigent circumstances such as an imminent threat to life or property, but the department must limit use to the emergency, dispose of unrelated data, and file a report to the Village Manager and Board within thirty days. Section 19-6-4 requires an annual written surveillance report presented at a Board meeting where residents may comment, and the Board may vote to cease use of a technology or modify its use policy.

The definition of 'surveillance technology' in section 19-6-1 lists automatic license plate readers among covered devices, but exempts technology used by Village police 'solely while they are working as part of an established federal task force,' meaning ALPR use tied to a joint federal task force falls outside this Board-approval and disclosure regime. Section 19-6-5 incorporates the state Protecting Household Privacy Act, Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act, and Freedom from Location Surveillance Act by reference, with the more stringent provision controlling in a conflict.