Biometric identification
Facial recognition / biometric face search
CONFIRMED One-to-one and one-to-many facial comparison systems can use facial images to verify or search for identity. Illinois Secretary of State records and law expressly establish use of facial recognition in the driver-license / identification-card environment.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE A 2016 Secretary of State rulemaking notice says the office uses facial recognition technology as a biometric identifier in the credentialing process. State procurement records identify IDEMIA/Morpho USA in the DL/ID software, printing, and facial-recognition contract.
DOCUMENTED USE Illinois Secretary of State driver-license and identification-card systems; statutes also expressly address governmental requests for facial-recognition search services involving credential photographs.
CONFIRMED PROVIDERS / PLATFORMS Caveat: The procurement record confirms IDEMIA’s role in the DL/ID contract including facial recognition. It does not, by itself, establish every component, architecture choice, retention practice, or search workflow currently in production.
Sources (3)
Full section → Vehicle surveillance
Automated license plate readers (ALPR)
CONFIRMED Networked cameras read license plates and commonly associate those detections with time, location, and vehicle characteristics for alerts and retrospective search.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Illinois State Police operates a statewide ALPR program and states that Motorola Solutions is its current primary vendor. Local Illinois agencies also use Flock Safety systems; NoRec has direct Boone County and Belvidere records.
DOCUMENTED USE Illinois State Police statewide program plus municipal and county deployments.
CONFIRMED PROVIDERS / PLATFORMS Sources (3)
Full section → Aerial surveillance
Police drones / unmanned aircraft systems
CONFIRMED Law-enforcement drones can carry cameras and other sensors for aerial observation, search, documentation, and emergency response.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Illinois regulates law-enforcement drone use through the Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act and requires reporting that identifies agency inventories and flight activity.
DOCUMENTED USE State reporting documents local deployments including Huntley Police and the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.
Sources (2)
Full section → Biometric identification
Human fingerprints / ABIS
CONFIRMED Fingerprint systems compare biometric records for identity, criminal-history, background-check, and investigative purposes.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Illinois State Police describes an Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) used with a repository containing records relating to more than five million fingerprint files.
DOCUMENTED USE Illinois State Police Bureau of Identification and related fingerprint-based identification services.
Sources (2)
Full section → Device identification & location
Cell-site simulators / IMSI catchers / digital analyzers
CONFIRMED Cell-site simulators can cause nearby phones or other communications devices to interact with a law-enforcement device so that identifying or location information can be obtained. Illinois law also places passive digital analyzers and passive interception devices inside its definition.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Illinois enacted the Citizen Privacy Protection Act specifically regulating law-enforcement use of these devices. Public-records litigation and reporting have separately documented Chicago Police Department acquisition/use of Stingray-class equipment.
DOCUMENTED USE Chicago Police Department use is historically documented. Illinois law regulates use statewide and generally requires a probable-cause court order for permitted law-enforcement use, subject to statutory exceptions.
Caveat: Illinois law places passive digital analyzers within the regulated technology definition. The current archive does not contain a primary agency record establishing a present Illinois deployment of a passive analyzer distinct from an active cell-site simulator.
Sources (2)
Property identification & tracking
Vehicle / property fingerprinting
CONFIRMED Modern ALPR systems can describe and re-identify vehicles using more than a plate number. Vehicle make, model, color, distinguishing characteristics, and other machine-readable attributes can turn a vehicle — privately owned property — into a searchable signature.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE The Boone County Sheriff’s Office ALPR policy in NoRec’s archive describes Flock detections containing the license plate together with vehicle make, model, color, and unique identifiers. Illinois State Police also operates a statewide ALPR program. NoRec uses “property fingerprinting” here to describe persistent machine-readable identification of property such as vehicles, not latent human fingerprints recovered from objects.
DOCUMENTED USE Boone County ALPR policy and other documented Illinois ALPR deployments establish vehicle-characteristic capture and search as part of Illinois vehicle-surveillance infrastructure.
CONFIRMED PROVIDERS / PLATFORMS Caveat: “Fingerprinting” is NoRec’s descriptive term for creating or using a searchable signature of property. It should not be confused with forensic latent-print examination or imply that every vendor uses the same proprietary attributes or re-identification method.
Sources (2)
Full section → Acoustic surveillance
Acoustic gunshot detection
HISTORICALLY CONFIRMED Distributed acoustic sensors detect impulsive sounds, estimate a probable gunshot location, and generate alerts for review and police response.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Chicago contracted with ShotSpotter for an Area Acoustic Gun Shot Surveillance System, and the Chicago Office of Inspector General published a detailed analysis of CPD use. Illinois State Police separately procured ShotSpotter technology for Chicago expressways.
DOCUMENTED USE Chicago Police Department historically used ShotSpotter through 2024; Illinois State Police also procured ShotSpotter technology for expressway gunshot detection.
CONFIRMED PROVIDERS / PLATFORMS Caveat: Chicago ended its ShotSpotter relationship in 2024, so this is labeled historically confirmed rather than implying current CPD deployment.
Sources (3)
Audio / video surveillance
Body-worn and in-car video systems
CONFIRMED Body-worn and vehicle-mounted systems record law-enforcement encounters and typically depend on evidence-management software and storage infrastructure.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Illinois procurement records show Secretary of State Police selected Axon for body-worn camera equipment/software. Illinois State Police separately procured Motorola Solutions body and in-car camera systems.
DOCUMENTED USE Multiple Illinois law-enforcement agencies, including Secretary of State Police and Illinois State Police.
CONFIRMED PROVIDERS / PLATFORMS Sources (2)
Audio / video surveillance
Covert video surveillance cameras
CONFIRMED Concealed surveillance cameras permit investigators to record locations or subjects without an obvious camera installation.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE A 2026 Illinois State Police procurement sought covert video surveillance concealment cameras.
DOCUMENTED USE Illinois State Police procurement is documented.
Caveat: The public procurement confirms acquisition intent and equipment category; sensitive operational deployment details may not be public.
Sources (1)
Device identification & location
Passive communications-device identification / interception
UNDER INVESTIGATION Passive radio-analysis systems can collect identifying or signaling information emitted by communications devices without necessarily impersonating a cellular base station.
ILLINOIS EVIDENCE Illinois law explicitly includes information obtained through a “digital analyzer or other passive interception device” inside the statutory definition governing cell-site simulator devices.
DOCUMENTED USE The legal framework expressly includes the technology category. The current archive does not establish a present Illinois agency deployment or vendor through a primary operational or procurement record.
Caveat: The statute does not establish that a particular agency owns or operates such a device. Deployment remains under investigation pending agency or procurement records.
Sources (1)
