Police Chief & Mayor Email Templates
Chief Controls the Mic, Mayor Controls the Outcome
As this discussion moves forward, it’s important that the Police Chief and the Mayor hear directly from the community. We encourage everyone to email and call both offices to share your perspective and ensure resident voices are part of the decision-making process. Even a short message helps reinforce that Woodstock wants thoughtful, privacy-respecting alternatives to Flock. Feel free to use the templates below, and don’t hesitate to express your concerns in your own words. Personal messages go a long way!
Email: mturner@woodstockil.gov
Phone Number: 815-338-4302
Mayor Turner - SHORT VERSION
Subject: Legal and Liability Risks Associated with Flock Systems
Mayor Turner,
I am raising a serious concern regarding the expansion of Flock Safety in Woodstock. The Illinois Secretary of State’s audit found Flock violated Illinois law by allowing federal and out-of-state access to ALPR data (Audit Findings).
As a result, Evanston and Oak Park terminated their Flock programs due to compliance and liability risks (Evanston Announcement, Oak Park Legal Statement). These actions were taken to prevent municipal exposure under Illinois privacy and biometric statutes.
Furthermore, the Organized Retail Crime Grant under consideration is vendor-neutral and may be used for safer, compliant alternatives (IL Attorney General ORC Program). Or most currently more affordable options that support local, highend security companies.
Given these findings, I strongly urge a formal legal review before proceeding.
Sincerely,
Mayor Turner - LONG VERSION
Subject: Significant Legal and Privacy Risks Associated with Flock Safety Systems
Mayor Turner,
I am writing as a concerned resident to raise serious legal and privacy issues regarding the expansion of Flock Safety systems in Woodstock. This technology has now been formally documented by the Illinois Secretary of State’s 2025 audit as violating state law by allowing U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other out-of-state agencies improper access to Illinois ALPR data.
Audit Source: https://www.ilsos.gov/news/2025/august-25-2025-giannoulias-audit-finds-license-plate-reader-company-in-violation-of-state-law.html
Following these findings, Illinois municipalities took immediate action:
Evanston deactivated all Flock cameras and issued a termination notice due to unlawful data access
https://www.cityofevanston.org/Home/Components/News/News/6676/249Oak Park ended its Flock contract after determining the vendor posed unacceptable legal and privacy risks
https://derekeder.com/blog/why-i-voted-to-cancel-flock
These decisions were made to protect residents’ privacy rights and to avoid municipal liability under Illinois law, which provides some of the strongest protections in the nation. Expanding a system with known compliance issues exposes Woodstock to potential challenges involving the Illinois Constitution, biometric privacy statutes, and Fourth Amendment search concerns.
It is also important to note that the Illinois Attorney General’s Organized Retail Crime Grant does not require adopting Flock. The grant is vendor-neutral and permits funding for investigations, patrols, training, and non-subscription camera systems that do not carry these legal risks:
https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Safer-Communities/organized-retail-crime/index
I fully support effective public safety tools, but only those that are legally compliant, privacy-respecting, and do not expose the City to foreseeable liability. Based on the documented issues, I respectfully urge a pause and formal legal review before any expansion of Flock is approved.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Email: policechief@woodstockil.gov
Phone Number: 815-338-2131
POLICE CHIEF - SHORT VERSION
Subject:Significant Legal Risk in Using Flock
Chief Lieb,
I respectfully request that the Police Department reevaluate the expansion of Flock Safety in light of significant legal findings in Illinois. The Illinois Secretary of State’s 2025 audit determined that Flock unlawfully allowed federal agencies, including CBP, to access Illinois ALPR data in violation of state law (Audit Findings).
Following this, multiple municipalities, including Evanston and Oak Park, terminated their Flock contracts due to demonstrated privacy violations and unacceptable compliance risks (Evanston Termination, Oak Park Legal Rationale).
These decisions reflect statutory risk, not politics. Additionally, Flock’s contracts provide the vendor with a perpetual license to aggregated data, raising long-term liability concerns.
Given these issues, I urge Woodstock to pause expansion until a compliance review is completed.
Thank you for your time and your service.
POLICE CHIEF - LONG VERSION
Subject: Legal and Compliance Concerns Regarding Continued Use of Flock Safety Systems
Chief Lieb,
I am writing to raise several serious legal concerns regarding the continued or expanded use of Flock Safety technology in Woodstock. I understand and respect your commitment to enhancing public safety; however, recent developments in Illinois law and documented vendor conduct pose substantial compliance and liability risks for the City and the Police Department.
As you are aware, Illinois maintains some of the strongest privacy and biometric protections in the country, including statutory limits on the sharing of location-based data. In August 2025, the Illinois Secretary of State released an audit finding that Flock Safety allowed access to Illinois residents’ ALPR data by federal agencies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in direct violation of Illinois law (Illinois Secretary of State Audit Findings).
Following these findings, multiple Illinois municipalities terminated their relationships with Flock to avoid legal exposure:
Evanston, IL issued a public statement deactivating all Flock systems and serving the company with termination notice, citing explicit concerns regarding unlawful data access and vendor noncompliance (City of Evanston Announcement).
Oak Park, IL, after reviewing identical audit findings, voted to discontinue Flock and remove its cameras. A Trustee later published a detailed legal explanation outlining why Flock posed unacceptable risks to the Village and its police department (Legal Analysis by Trustee Derek Eder).
It is important to note that these actions were not political, they were taken to protect municipalities from statutory violations, civil-liberties challenges, and third-party misuse of sensitive data.
Finally, Flock’s own contracts explicitly grant the company a perpetual, worldwide license to reuse aggregated data, including footage, even after a contract ends, under Section 4.4 of multiple executed agreements available in public records. This raises profound questions about long-term data control, discoverability, and liability.
Chief, I fully respect your expertise and commitment to public safety. My concern is that maintaining or expanding Flock use without a full legal review exposes the City and the Department to avoidable risk, particularly given the clear precedents now established in Illinois.
I respectfully request that Woodstock pause further expansion and initiate a formal compliance assessment before proceeding.
Thank you for your time and your service.