Jose Villagrana says the Sheriff's Office should ease back on license-plate data collection
Retired Kendall County sheriff's sergeant and attorney (D) running for Kendall County sheriff
“People are just uneasy about us gathering all this information about where they are going, I think it kind of touches on the Fourth Amendment. Is it a search?...I think we need to ease back on that, take a look at it and make sure we’re making good decisions for everybody, not just for fighting crime.”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Shaw Local report on a Sept. 21, 2026, League of Women Voters Aurora Area forum for the candidates for Kendall County sheriff in Illinois.
Before the quotation
At a League of Women Voters Aurora Area forum, the moderator asked whether the Sheriff's Office should be able to search Flock cameras run by municipalities without their permission. Villagrana said he wants to make sure voters are "OK with this overkill of data and surveillance going around."
After the quotation
His Republican opponent, Undersheriff Bobby Richardson, said at the same forum that searches of other agencies' cameras should rest on prior permission and that the Sheriff's Office audits its searches.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
The reference point is whether networked license-plate camera systems such as Flock should exist and be used. Villagrana says residents are uneasy, raises a Fourth Amendment question and says the office should ease back and review its use, which is a call to scale back and reconsider rather than to end the systems.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Flock Safety
Should Flock-style license-plate surveillance networks exist?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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