On Friday, a few weeks short of one year since the mass shooting in Highland Park, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law a bill giving law enforcement greater leeway to use surveillance drones at events such as races, concerts and parades.
Thank you for supporting our journalism. This article is available exclusively for our subscribers, who help fund our work at the Chicago Tribune.Alexi Vahlkamp and her daughter Maytal, 5, color a chalk mural of the “HP Strong” logo on June 4, 2023, during Wear Orange weekend in Highland Park. “Wear Orange is to remember and honor survivors of gun violence, and everyone here in Highland Park is a survivor,” said Vahlkamp, of Moms Demand Action.
The allowed uses by law enforcement will be expanded to include planned special events such as parades and races, non-crime related search and rescue operations and to conduct infrastructure inspections if requested to do so by another public agency. “My heart goes out to everyone who was out at the Highland parade that day and I can’t imagine the terror and trauma it is,” she said. “But at the same point, we have to find that balance on the spectrum between freedom and safety.”
The new law includes extensive language regulating the facial recognition capabilities of law enforcement drones, allowing it only in cases where there is a identifiable “high risk of a terrorist attack” or to “prevent imminent harm to life.”
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