Homer Glen suspends use of Flock cameras, citing privacy concerns

Our Take

Credit where it's due: ABC 7 Chicago is reporting on a Illinois village that did something most towns never even consider — hit pause. Homer Glen officials suspended their Flock Safety camera program and cited privacy concerns, which tells you this wasn't a budget hiccup or a vendor dispute. Someone on that board actually listened to residents who didn't want every car entering and leaving their community logged, time-stamped, and stored in a database most people will never get to see, let alone audit.

This is exactly the kind of story we want more of. Flock's pitch to small towns is always the same: it's just for finding stolen cars and Amber Alerts, trust us. But once the cameras go up, the data doesn't stay narrowly used — it gets pooled into a nationwide network, shared across agencies, and kept far longer than most residents realize. Homer Glen pumping the brakes is a reminder that elected officials can say no, or at least say 'wait, let's actually think about this,' instead of rubber-stamping a surveillance contract because a sales rep made it sound painless.

If you want to see whether your own neighborhood has quietly joined this network, check the map. And if you'd rather your town look more like Homer Glen than the next uncritical customer, our take-action page has the tools to make your voice heard before the cameras go up, not after.