SPRINGFIELD – To keep human traffickers off Illinois roadways, bring to justice to victims of human trafficking and shield everyday Illinoisans from unnecessary exposure, State Senator Laura Murphy passed legislation to expand the expressway camera program to target traffickers while prohibiting images taken by license plate readers from being released via FOIA requests.

“The expansion of this program would empower law enforcement with the tools necessary to swiftly identify human traffickers in real time,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “This bill sends a clear message that Illinois will not be used as a safe haven for these criminals.”

Human traffickers often use highways to transport victims. Truck stops in particular are often hotspots for this kind of illicit activity and those vehicles can be tracked using an expressway camera.

Building on Murphy’s efforts to address public safety in 2022, the new initiative would expand the existing expressway camera program to Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties and enable police to use expressway cameras for human trafficking and involuntary servitude investigations. The current camera program is limited to target gun violence, vehicular hijacking and other offenses.

Law enforcement has already used these cameras to great effect in the 20 counties currently authorized for their operation. According to Illinois State Police, automated license plate readers helped identify a suspect or a witness in 82% of interstate shootings in 2024.

On the issue of privacy, Murphy’s legislation would exempt images captured on automated license plate cameras from Freedom of Information Act requests. This is in line with current state law prohibiting data collection tools like license plate readers from being used by out-of-state law enforcement to target people traveling to and around Illinois to access reproductive and gender-affirming care.

“There are bad actors out there who may use these images to track or stalk someone,” said Murphy. “Additionally, if the public or media gain access to photos while building a criminal case, it could tip off criminals. Exempting photos taken from expressway cameras is the right thing to do for public safety.”

House Bill 3339 passed the Senate Friday.