Illinois College’s Attempt to Terminate Flock Contact Fails

In April 2025, Elgin Community College installed six Flock safety cameras to boost student safety and security. However, by September, concerns arose within the administration regarding Flock’s potential data sharing with Customs and Border Patrol, the security of camera feeds, and possible misuse of data access by law enforcement and Flock employees.

In October 2025, the college requested the removal of the cameras. Elgin’s President, Peggy Heinrich, reported that Flock denied the request, claiming no breach of contract had occurred. By December, school officials reached out again, offering to pay for the remaining five months of the contract while still asking for the cameras to be taken down, but received no response.

Things took a bizarre turn when Heinrich noted that college staff began covering the cameras with black trash bags and zip ties to prevent footage capture. However, individuals in an unmarked vehicle, which Heinrich believed to be associated with Flock, repeatedly removed the coverings. “We were kind of in a back and forth for a bit where we’d cover, and then when they’d come to service, they’d remove,” Heinrich explained. This back-and-forth continued until the college’s contract expired in April of this year, at which point Flock finally removed the cameras.