Mount Prospect Police May Have Illegally Shared License Plate Information

The AP is reporting that the Mount Prospect Police Department shared license plate information with a sheriff in Texas in regards to a woman who allegedly performed a self-abortion.

According to the AP, and according to Illinois Secretary of State Alexis Giannoulias, police in Mount Prospect, shared license-plate data with the
sheriff in Johnson County, Texas, who was looking for a woman whose
family was worried because she had undergone a self-administered abortion.

Secretary Giannoulias has alleged that Mount Prospect also shared data outside of Illinois
on undocumented immigrants, in violation of the law. Between mid-January
and April, there were 262 searches on immigration-related matters in
Mount Prospect alone, he said.

The incident in question was revealed by a website called 404 Media, which
reported that the Texas sheriff sent a nationwide request for data from
83,000 cameras operated by the private company Flock Safety, including
those in Mount Prospect.

At Secretary Giannoulias’ request, Flock Safety blocked access to 62
out-of-state agencies that have sought data related to abortion or
immigration, Burnham said. The company also set up a parameter within their request system to flag the
terms “abortion” and “immigration” in requests for access and to subsequently deny
those applications.

There is no word on the woman, who she is, or if she is facing any criminal prosecution in Texas in relation to this matter.

Requests for comment left for the MPPD have gone unanswered thus far.