DuPage board delays vote on tethered-drone purchase amid calls for clearer UAS policy

The DuPage County Board on Oct. 28 postponed action on a proposed contract to purchase a tethered Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) for the sheriff’s office after public comment and board debate highlighted gaps in the county’s draft UAS policy.

The contract before the Judicial & Public Safety Committee would have authorized a purchase order to Safeware Inc. for a tethered UAS for the sheriff’s office (contract total not to exceed $67,892.25). The item drew immediate public scrutiny and questions from board members about operational oversight, data retention timelines and independent review.

Public speakers asked for a publicly posted operational policy, mandatory flight logs (date, time, duration, purpose and legal basis), FOIA access to logs, explicit prohibitions on facial-recognition technology and an external audit mechanism. “Will you commit today to directing the sheriff’s office to create a publicly posted, detailed operational policy and drone flight log access to residents under FOIA?” asked Helen Schroet during public comment.

At the committee and board level, Member Evans described the proposed tethered system as a stationary tool used in public places and noted that the policy draft disallows facial recognition; he urged the board to clarify oversight and transparency. Member Yu moved to postpone the item and require further review of the UAS policy; that procedural motion ultimately carried to postpone consideration to the Nov. 12, 2025 county board meeting (postponement vote: 9 yes, 8 no, 1 absent).

Board members repeatedly sought clarity on several draft policy provisions, most notably a clause that allows data retention — under a warrant-based probable-cause authorization — for a 45-day period. Critics described 45 days as excessive and urged a narrower retention window. Supporters of the tethered system said it is a public-safety tool used for specific operational purposes such as search-and-rescue and event monitoring.

The postponement gives staff and the sheriff’s office time to produce a publicly accessible UAS policy, address concerns about flight logs and retention periods and clarify whether an outside review or audit body will oversee deployments. The item will be returned to the board's Nov. 12 agenda with additional documentation, the county clerk said.

What’s next: county staff, the sheriff’s office and the state’s attorney will be asked to prepare a revised UAS policy and implementation plan with publicly accessible logs and clearer retention rules for the Nov. 12 meeting. The Safeware contract remains on hold pending that work.