Urbana keeps surveillance‑technology ordinance in committee after months of public comment

The City of Urbana Committee of the Whole continued discussion of a proposed ordinance establishing approval, policy and reporting requirements for policing surveillance technology and databases and voted to keep the item in committee for further work rather than adopting it at this meeting.

Public commenters urged the council to adopt strong limits on surveillance technology, with multiple speakers citing concerns about automatic license‑plate readers (ALPRs) and private companies that aggregate vehicle‑tracking data. “From the standpoint of civil rights and personal security, I think the ALPR surveillance network is a complete betrayal of the public trust,” Ron Kester, a local resident, told the committee, citing reported out‑of‑state searches of Illinois data and calling for an outright ban on ALPR systems unless safeguards and…