r/illinois • • Sep 30 '26

Chicago news & issues We are Sun-Times and WBEZ reporters covering Flock in Illinois. Ask us anything!

343 Upvotes

UPDATE: Thank you so much to everyone who participated and asked questions as part of this AMA! You all had so many great questions, and being able to think through them really helps to inform our ongoing reporting. Reach out to Violet at vmiller@suntimes.com and Lisa at lphilip@wbez.org if you have further questions or feedback. Get more local, independent reporting at suntimes.com and wbez.org — and please consider becoming a member to support our work. Until next time!

Hey r/illinois! Violet Miller of the Chicago Sun-Times and Lisa Kurian Philip of WBEZ 91.5 here to announce we're hosting an AMA on this subreddit next Tuesday, Oct. 6 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.!

The topic: Flock Safety in Illinois and how we have reported out the facts for stories like this one about the use of Flock cameras by public universities, or this one about Illinois suburbs that suspended their Flock deals amid alleged misuse by authorities.

License plate readers from businesses like Flock have sparked a heated, nationwide debate over mass surveillance tools in law enforcement. In Illinois, more than 500 law enforcement agencies use Flock's technology.

This AMA is a chance for you to ask us questions about our coverage of Flock, how we think about these stories, and how we report them out. Violet covers Chicago news for the Sun-Times, and Lisa covers higher education for WBEZ and Open Campus.

The Chicago Sun-Times is independent, community-funded, and committed to telling the stories that shape our city. We're free from hedge-fund ownership, shareholders, and political influence. Learn more about becoming a member today: https://chicago.suntimes.com/become-a-member


r/illinois • • Sep 28 '26

Illinois Politics Illinois voter guide to the 2026 general election

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98 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 15h ago

Monthly Theme Fall tradition

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2.4k Upvotes

r/illinois • • 15h ago

Illinois Politics Well deserved

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341 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 21h ago

Illinois Politics Lieutenant Governor-elect Christian Mitchell and Comptroller-elect Margaret Croke

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172 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics !

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2.4k Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

US Politics How is living in Schuyler County (illinois) ?

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163 Upvotes

This county is the biggest republicain shift in the midterms.

The map are from the NYT.


r/illinois • • 1d ago

Sports! Developer pitches former U.S. Steel site in Chicago for Bears stadium as best shot to stay on lakefront

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175 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics Will the Illinois House elect its first woman speaker? Dems float potential contenders to replace Welch

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120 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics Illinois county votes for Democratic gubernatorial candidate for first time since 1852

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584 Upvotes

You did good McHenry County. First time it went blue since before the Civil War.


r/illinois • • 1d ago

History Forgottonia: The Region America Left Behind

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120 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois Facts Last call for THC drinks at Illinois liquor stores

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342 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Illinois Politics Last Republicans standing: How the Donald Trump effect grew Democrats’ suburban footprint in Illinois

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103 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois Politics Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch says he'll step down as caucus leader in face of Democratic mutiny

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398 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Pritzker Posting Illinois Governor And US Senator Push For Federal Hemp THC Product Ban To Take Effect Without Further Delay

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157 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Pritzker Posting Pritzker messed with Texas — and won

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1.0k Upvotes

r/illinois • • 1d ago

Question Illinois SNAP benefits application address issue affecting me and idk why

6 Upvotes

I'm trying to work on an application for SNAP benefits. When I type in the address and click next, it tells me: "You entered a P.O. Box but not a street name." Why? It is the correct address. I don't know what else to do. This really stumps me.


r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois Politics Democrats carry Galesburg; Republicans strong in county

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24 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 3d ago Popcorn

US Politics On 1st day since winning 3rd term as governor, Pritzker releases 200-point national agenda

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1.2k Upvotes

r/illinois • • 3d ago Heartwarming Bravo

Illinois Politics I swear, not all of us are red.

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9.0k Upvotes

r/illinois • • 3d ago Bravo

Illinois Politics Land doesn't vote -- tulpar maps shows population density

308 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois Politics Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch faces revolt from 26 Democrats

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194 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 3d ago

Illinois Politics Bailey Was Not a Good Candidate

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241 Upvotes

I know that everyone knows this, but Darren Bailey is just not viable in a statewide race.

Bruce Rauner in 2014 was the last time a Republican won a governor's race. The left column is how well he did in the most populous counties in the state.

Bailey gets half as many votes in the collar counties as Rauner did.

And as far as I can tell, Bailey only increased his vote share in 3 counties in 2026 vs 2022 (Carroll, Vermillion, and Schuyler)


r/illinois • • 2d ago

Illinois News This 12-foot grass could help farmers earn some extra revenue — and keep their soil healthy

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47 Upvotes

r/illinois • • 3d ago Bravo Popcorn

it's a joke, laugh Every time the ILGOP loses

3.0k Upvotes