Committee of the Whole & City Council Meeting - September 9, 2026
The short version: Elgin's City Council livestream is another reminder that ALPR contracts get decided in rooms most residents never watch.
Our Take
The City of Elgin posted its September 9 Committee of the Whole and Council meeting, and whatever specifics were on that night's agenda, the format itself tells the real story: decisions about license plate reader contracts, budget renewals, and data-sharing agreements with vendors like Flock Safety routinely happen in municipal meetings that draw little public scrutiny. Most residents only find out their town has blanketed intersections with ALPR cameras after the fact, if they find out at all.
We're not going to pretend we watched a transcript that wasn't provided or put words in anyone's mouth. But we will say this: every city council meeting is a chance for residents to show up, ask who's reviewing the plate-read logs, how long the data is kept, and whether neighboring agencies get access to it. If Elgin hasn't had that conversation publicly yet, now's the time to push for it.
Credit to the City of Elgin for at least keeping these meetings public and archived — that's more transparency than plenty of towns offer. Check our map to see if Elgin or your own city already has cameras logged, and visit take action for templates on getting real answers out of your local council.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of City of Elgin, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.