Illinois officials investigate license-plate data shared with police seeking woman who had abortion

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: AP

Updated 3:54 PM EDT, June 12, 2025


SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois secretary of state on Thursday asked for an investigation into a suburban Chicago police department after learning that it violated state law by sharing data from automatic license-plate readers with a Texas sheriff seeking a woman who had an abortion.

Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias asked the attorney general to review the matter. He also is creating an audit system to ensure police departments don’t run afoul of a 2023 law banning the distribution of license-plate data to track women seeking abortions or to find undocumented immigrants.

The incident underscores the fears that led to the law: In particular, that states which restricted abortion access after Roe v. Wade was overturned would use the technology to follow and possibly prosecute women seeking the procedure by crossing into Illinois, where it is readily available.

“License plate readers can serve as an important tool for law enforcement, but these cameras must be regulated so they aren’t abused for surveillance, tracking the data of innocent people or criminalizing lawful behavior,” the Democrat said in a statement.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/abortion-access-immigration-license-plate-readers-surveillance-13fac7c045df3c5e5145f6d4e4c4db28

[Irish_Dem]

1. MAGAs love hunting down innocent people.

[riversedge]

2. Is Texas tracking all women of child bearing age who cross their borders???

This potential exists--after all, it is Texas!!!

[cab67]

3. How would such a law be even remotely constitutional?

[sinkingfeeling]

4. What law? Illinois is ptotecting citizens' privacy.

[cab67]

18. The Texas law

or what Texas is trying to do, anyway.

[Hekate]

12. Since anti-abortion laws dating back 150 years have been brought back...

Seriously, there are things called “zombie laws” because while superseded by Roe they were never actually taken off the books in their states. Thus when SCOTUS overturned Roe vs Wade and threw it back to the 50 states, those laws could be brought back into effect.

Red state fanatics, ideologues, and state legislatures lusted for such results. Texas (wait for it) instituted a bounty law, leading me and at least one cartoonist to immediately think of Runaway Slave laws. No joke, not even a little bit.

From Horsey, 2022

[J_William_Ryan]

5. "...a suburban Chicago police department..."

Things are bad enough with fascist red states’ abortion bans – free states need to be vigilant in not facilitating the fascist right’s efforts to punish women who lawfully exercise their rights to privacy and reproductive autonomy.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

8. In this case, the free state is exercising vigilance over fascist red cities and counties.

I hate Illinois Nazis.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

15. Ironically The Blues Mobile came from the Mount Prospect police auction.

(Mount prospect is the offending Illinois city in the story)

[JohnnyRingo]

6. That is not the purpose of Flock Cameras.

And such abuse is exactly the fear of Big Brother's supervision.

[Mr. Mustard 2023]

7. I wonder how long it takes before the country realizes...

...religiously insane people are insane and think they're required by their "god" to be in charge of us. When "god" speaks you act and are covered.

[travelingthrulife]

9. Every woman in these backward states need to call the police every month to

report a potential miscarriage. If you are sexually active and still menstruating you could be pregnant.

[lark]

10. The person who gave over the info is a woman hater and needs to be fired right now!!

Breaking the law to hurt an innocent person is unconscionable and the person needs to pay the price for their illegal actions!

[IrishBubbaLiberal]

11. Republicans are the American Taliban. Religious extremists, Anti-Women

Republicans are the American Taliban.
Religious extremists, Anti-Women

[orleans]

13. way to go mount prospect

[Martin68]

14. This is an unconscionable invasion of privacy.

[Magoo48]

16. Fuckin' Nazis...

[NowsTheTime]

17. https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/family-law/reproductive-rights/can-you-cross-state-lines-to-get-an-abortion.html

I don't think there is enforcement after the fact, except if someone helped her, based on the following:

https://www.lawinfo.com/resources/family-law/reproductive-rights/can-you-cross-state-lines-to-get-an-abortion.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

19. Sickening