Jose Villagrana is an Illinois attorney and retired Kendall County sheriff's deputy who served 25 years as a deputy and sergeant. He earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Illinois Chicago and a law degree from Northern Illinois University. He ran for Kendall County state's attorney in 2024 and is the Democratic candidate for county sheriff in 2026.
Case
Networked automated license-plate cameras can assemble searchable records of vehicle movements. Candidates and officials disagree over whether to ban the systems, keep them with limits, or defend them as investigative tools. This tracker separates outright bans from narrower restrictions.
Role at the time: Retired Kendall County sheriff's sergeant and attorney (D) running for Kendall County sheriff
Statement summary
Jose Villagrana said people are uneasy about law enforcement gathering information about where they go, questioned whether it amounts to a Fourth Amendment search and said the office should ease back and take a look at its use.
“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.”
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.
Statement dates: September 21, 2026
Statement dates: September 21, 2026
Statement dates: September 21, 2026
Statement dates: September 21, 2026
