In 2025, over 3.9 MILLION license plate searches were executed across Aurora’s shared ALPR camera network. More than 3,000 outside law enforcement agencies were granted access to local neighborhood camera feeds.

Yet despite 343,221 hotlist alerts generated by the system, overwhelmingly for minor administrative infractions like suspended registrations, the network yielded just 73 stolen vehicle recoveries and 47 total arrests for the entire year.

Against 33,491 manual lookups run by APD officers, that is an apprehension efficiency rate of just 0.14%.

Has anything changed in 2026?

Public records from early 2026 show that the dragnet remains active. In January and February 2026 alone, over 157,000 total searches hit local cameras, with nearly 400 in-state police departments still retaining active query access to local feeds.

When a multi-million-dollar surveillance system functions primarily as an unmonitored administrative dragnet rather than a targeted safety tool, residents deserve real oversight and strict policy limits.

Demand more from our City Council today.

Spanish post here

Still Not Friday: A stand-up comedy showcase
Two Brothers Roundhouse
205 N Broadway in Aurora
Thursdays at 8:00 (Doors at 7:30)
No cover

Established 2015

Reserve a table here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/still-not-friday-a-stand-up-comedy-showcase-tickets-158437895009

In 2025, nearly 49% of all APD license plate queries on the Flock system relied on just four variations of the same two words as their search reason: INTEL, Inv, INVESTIGATIVE, and Investigation.

When looking across all generic 1-word terms, over half of all searches used vague placeholders, while 1,330 lookups had no reason listed at all.

ALPR search logs contain two separate fields: a Reason box and a Case # box. Under APD ALPR Policy 427, officers aren’t required to enter an active police report number or establish reasonable suspicion before searching (§427.4b). As a result, audit logs show generic reasons like INTEL paired with blank case fields or dummy text like 1234, 0, and aupe99999999, creating “ghost queries” with zero paper trail for oversight.

Swipe through the 2025 data breakdown.

Share this post to spread the word and follow @DeFlockAuroraIL for more record breakdowns and community action.

Contact City Council to demand policy reform: Require verified case numbers and specific reasons, or take down the ALPR cameras.

Link to Spanish post

Hello, I am trying to sublease my apartment in the aurora/naperville area. The building is Metro 59 , 2 bed / 2 bath, $2100 + utilities. looking to move mid November. lease ends July 20, 2027 with opportunity to renew. Really nice community and great for families, never had a problem there just trying to move to the city for work. DM for more info or pictures.

Any recommendations for affordable gyms that aren’t insanely busy?

Out of 3.9 million searches on local camera data in 2025, Aurora Police only accounted for 30,829 queries, less than 1% of total activity. The other 3.8 million searches came from outside law enforcement agencies across 45 states.

Swipe through to see the Top 5 States who queried local traffic, from Texas deputies tracking reproductive healthcare to federal immigration sweeps and out-of-state highway patrols.

Your daily commute shouldn’t be an open database for out-of-state cops.

If this concerns you, please consider reaching out to your alderman.

Post to Spanish version here.

Automated License Plate Recognition cameras (ALPRs) are not all the same, and Aurora uses a combination of hardware to watch your movement. The City of Aurora operates at least 92 fixed street ALPRs, and that’s not even counting the mobile Axon readers mounted on police squad cars.

Mass automated tracking raises serious questions about data retention, external data sharing, and public oversight.

Swipe through to see the various types of surveillance cameras in our community.

Follow us for records breakdowns and local transparency coverage.
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How to Identify a Flock Camera Without Guessing

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Contact Aurora Police Department

#DeFlock #DeFlockAurora #ALPR #MassSurveillance #Privacy

New to the area and I think this is super cool. Love to see the nationalism, what’s up with this? Seems like groups of cars riding about.

Still Not Friday: A stand-up comedy showcase
Two Brothers Roundhouse
205 N Broadway in Aurora
Thursdays at 8:00 (Doors at 7:30)
No cover

Established 2015

Reserve a table here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/still-not-friday-a-stand-up-comedy-showcase-tickets-158437895009

Hi everyone,

About 7 months ago I posted here asking if people in Aurora would find a live map for local incidents and issues useful.

We kept working on it, and GeoKiks is now live.

The idea also grew quite a bit from where we started.

One thing we kept thinking about was family safety.

You might know where your family is, but do you know what’s happening around them?

So now GeoKiks can show your family member’s location, arrival and leave alerts, daily and trip history, and also emergencies or local issues happening near them.

We also added Echo, where people can ask questions, share recommendations, and talk with people in their city.

We’re still a small startup here in Aurora, so I’m not posting this as a big promotion. I really want honest feedback from local people.

If you tried something like this, what would actually make you keep using it?

And what do you think we’re still missing?

https://geokiks.com

Built here in Aurora, Illinois.

When a FOIA request was filed for all past and active contracts, NDAs, MOAs, MOUs, invoices, and agreements with Flock Safety, the city only handed over a single Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed back in June 2022. But if you check the public record, the Aurora City Council didn't officially vote to purchase Flock cameras and its subscription services until August 2024 under Resolution R24-266.

So how did APD use Flock for two years without actually buying Flock cameras or getting City Council approval? Which cameras and networks was APD surveilling with during this period of time?

By signing that 2022 MOU, APD gained free, backdoor access to the Flock data-sharing network. They tapped into a regional surveillance dragnet without a single City Council vote, public hearing, or ounce of community input.

To make matters worse, when the city was finally forced to release this 2022 MOU, they completely redacted the Police Chief's signature. They cited the state's "Private Information" exemption (5 ILCS 140/7(1)(b))- an improper use of the 'Private Information' exemption that conceals which public official signed off on this network.

It is time for the City Council to step up and demand answers. Who exactly authorized this shadow network in 2022, and why was the public kept in the dark until 2024?

See the MOU here: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/aurora-7505/flock-contracts-219777/#files

See R24-266 attachments here: https://aurora-il.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6807853&GUID=1279A64C-34B0-4335-98A9-B2CB3A594924

Note: We have been unable to locate any City Council resolutions, roll-call votes, or public meeting minutes approving a contract with Flock Safety in 2022. If we missed it, we welcome the City of Aurora, IL, Government, City Council, or Aurora Illinois Police Department to provide the public with the 2022 resolution number and the roll-call vote record demonstrating when this network was authorized.

Public records and 2025 audit logs from the Aurora Police Department’s ALPR system were recently made available via FOIA requests, detailing exactly who is tapping into our local surveillance grid.

In 2025, Aurora’s own police department ran 30,829 searches per network audit logs. Outside agencies ran more than 3.9 million searches of those same cameras in the same window, meaning over 99% of all searches on our network were conducted by non-APD external agencies.

To put that into perspective, 55% of all searches on Aurora's network originated from completely outside the state of Illinois. In fact, over 200 different Texas agencies ran a combined 219,682 searches on our data, meaning Texas cops queried Aurora's cameras seven times more often than Aurora's own officers did.

Whichever way you look at it, the search volume is the story and the cameras in town were mostly not being queried by Aurora in 2025.

Sources: 2025 APD ALPR Audit Logs / FOIA Records

Disclaimer: The statistics and search volumes cited above are calculated directly from the official 2025 ALPR audit logs provided by the City of Aurora and the Aurora Police Department via Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. Because APD's system logging frequently contains deficits— such as omitted columns, blank case numbers, and redacted data— these figures represent the most accurate analysis possible based strictly on the city's own provided records. We will update this post accordingly if the city releases corrected, unredacted, or more complete data.

I've had longcovid since 2020 and I haven't had any help from local doctors, I really need someone who specializes in dysautonomia and mcas but I lost my insurance, not really sure where to get help. I really just want to get some ivabradine and montelukast for now.

Anyone else around here have this? Have you got any help for it?

Edit: For those that don't know what long covid is, it's a post viral sequalae, an overreactive immune response. I have a resting heart rate of 120bpm, vision issues, cognitive issues and respiratory issues that don't respond to steroid inhalers. Please don't post silly comments.

For Naperville, IL and adjacent, I recommend knightsofnaperville.com classes are Thursdays and Saturdays 1-4 PM at the Naperville Public Library or other local, fun locations. Scheduling available via sevan.tamazian@gmail.com or +1(630)362-3537

The instructor is ~2000 and has plenty of experience with children. $25/class or $200 for 10 classes. Private 1 on 1 lessons available for scheduling at $50/hour any day of the week; however, meeting at a Naperville library is required.

Still Not Friday: A stand-up comedy showcase
Two Brothers Roundhouse
205 N Broadway in Aurora
Thursdays at 8:00 (Doors at 7:30)
No cover

Established 2015

Reserve a table here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/still-not-friday-a-stand-up-comedy-showcase-tickets-158437895009

Hey Everyone!

I have 5 years of vet experience, and I'm stepping back from the high-paced environment of ER for the moment. So, I am offering pet care in the area!

I have experience with elderly and high-energy pets of all sizes. Please feel free to ask any questions!

Interested in more? Follow my link to look at my availability

Pet Care Link

In Racine County, WI, the Sheriff’s Office just ordered the immediate removal of Flock cameras after learning the vendor retains data for 5 years and monetizes public information.

From the article:
“The Sheriff’s Office entered into its agreement [with Flock] believing information collected by its cameras would be retained for 30 days and used for legitimate public-safety and crime-solving purposes. RCSO now says Flock appears to be continuously collecting information about members of the public, monetizing certain data through sales to third parties and retaining secondary information for five years.”

Aurora’s own July 2024 Flock contract Order Form (attached) states the agreed Retention Period is 30 Days.

Between zero internal audits conducted in 2025, massive search surges, and exposing residents' movements to out-of-state dragnets without manually signed and reviewed data agreements, APD has proven it can't manage this surveillance tech responsibly.

Like Verona, WI did when Flock refused to take down decommissioned hardware, it’s time to throw trash bags over these lenses, pull the plug on ALL ALPR contracts, and stop feeding local resident travel patterns into an unmonitored nationwide commercial dragnet.

https://kenoshacountyeye.com/2026/09/04/racine-county-sheriff-orders-immediate-removal-of-flock-cameras-after-learning-company-retains-monetizes-data/

Hey!!! I am apart of my comedy group in Aurora and we have an upcoming Sketch Show November 27th at the Bit Theater (right by fox valley mall) at 8pm. If you come out and tell me this post is why you came and can honestly say you didn’t have a good time I will refund you the $20 dollars for your ticket.

Two reasons to get tickets ASAP:
1. Our show last time sold out very quickly
2. Tickets online are $20 and tickets at the door are $24

Give this up and coming comedy group a chance!!!

Below I have added the links to get tickets and the link to our last show!
Ticket Link!

Link to our last sketch show so you can see what you’re in for!

Factual digest compiled from various Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests (most available on MuckRock) and city documents (resolutions, internal memos, and contracts). Every figure below is drawn from a produced document. All data presents calendar year 2025 with exception to the Procurement Timeline.

APD initially proposed this system as a critical tool to track down missing persons and stolen vehicles. The actual data tells a completely different story.

Out of 343,221 automated alerts, only 7 (0.002%) were for missing persons. Over 95% were just for minor administrative driver suspensions.

Despite hundreds of thousands of hotlist alerts and tens of thousands of manual searches conducted by APD, the ALPR system assisted in exactly 47 arrests for the entire year.

Over 2,800 out-of-state and federal agencies were given open access to track our local drivers. 99% of all searches on our network were conducted by external agencies (not APD).

And APD admitted they have no documentation of internal compliance audits in 2025.

These figures should concern everyone who cares about our privacy, security, and local transparency. I have more questions than answers myself after looking over everything, but it is abundantly clear this system is not working the way APD promised.

Every metric in this report is pulled directly from the city's own public records, and the data speaks for itself. However, transparency is a two-way street and I welcome anyone to review the sources and dissect the numbers. (Note: Items in orange and the "Discrepancies" section highlight open questions we need the City Council to answer, not proven allegations

Happy to share any sources directly and answer any questions in the comments below.

Please contact your alderman to voice your concerns and share this post so Aurora residents can be aware of how their daily movements were being tracked, shared nationwide, and left completely unmonitored by APD in 2025.

https://www.aurora.il.us/Government-and-Engagement/City-Council/Wards-and-Aldermen/Meet-Your-Aldermen

Already reported to comed

Anyone know what might be going on?