After Elgin Community College in Illinois decided Flock Safety's surveillance cameras could make students less safe, the school tried to end its contract, but the company denied it.
When the cameras were not removed, staff covered them with trash bags and zip ties until Flock reportedly "sent people in unmarked vehicles to uncover them."
Here's what to know
A post from Let's Address Illinois says Elgin Community College asked Flock to remove six surveillance cameras installed in April 2025.
College president Peggy Heinrich said her initial support for the devices — which she believed would "enhance the safety and security of students" — changed after reports that Illinois Flock camera data had been shared with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and after ICE detained an Elgin Community College student in a campus parking lot in September 2025.
Heinrich said fear spread on the west suburban Chicago campus, where more than half of students are Latino, and enrollment fell as some students became afraid to attend class.
According to records reported by surveillance researcher Torin Monahan and WBEZ, ICE searched Flock camera data dozens of times in 2025 at Joliet Junior College, the University of Illinois Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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The Illinois Secretary of State also found that U.S. Customs and Border Protection searched Illinois Flock data in 2025 in violation of state law.
More background
Flock's business model is central to the dispute. Using AI, the company's automatic plate-reading cameras record registrations and other vehicle details, including visible markers such as dents and bumper stickers.
Although staff reviewed the college's Flock data and found no signs of access by federal immigration agents, Heinrich said the school still wanted to remove the cameras "out of an abundance of caution for our students."
In the comments, one person wrote, "Elgin CC is solid. They offer low cost/free English classes for non-English-speaking adults." Another said, "Always loved ECC — great community college and has a fantastic paralegal program."
What's being done?
The college contacted Flock in October 2025 to cancel the agreement and get the cameras removed. Flock rejected that request. In December 2025, when officials tried again, they said they were willing to cover the final five months if Flock would take down the equipment.
"We never received a response back from Flock," Heinrich said. Because the devices remained, campus staff covered the cameras with black trash bags and zip ties so they could not record footage.
According to Heinrich, people in unmarked vehicles she believed were tied to Flock repeatedly removed the coverings. The standoff lasted until the contract expired in April 2026, when Flock finally removed the cameras.
Students and educators across Illinois have also been urging other schools to cut ties with Flock and similar surveillance companies.
Heinrich summed up the college's priority, saying, "We're just doing everything we can here to be sure this feels like a safe place for our students to come. We want them to come here and to be able to focus on learning."
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