Lawmaker: Biometrics ban would put law enforcement back in the Stone Age

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(The Center Square) – An Illinois state lawmaker says a proposal to ban law enforcement from using biometric information systems would put crime-fighting efforts back in the Stone Age.

House Bill 5521 prohibits the use of biometric tools like facial recognition technology or identifiers like finger prints, voice prints and eye scans by state and local law enforcement agencies.

Police officer and state Rep. Patrick Sheehan, R-Homer Glen, said the Biometric Surveillance Act filed by state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, is ludicrous.

“Well, it sounds like Rep Cassidy wants a lot of crime to be unsolved and literally bring us back into the Stone Age when it comes to fighting crime,” Sheehan told The Center Square.

HB 5521 provides that the Illinois Secretary of State may not provide facial recognition search services, except for verification of an individual's identity when issuing a mobile driver's license or identification card.

The measure also allows the Illinois Attorney General to initiate or intervene in civil action to obtain relief.

Cassidy’s office did not immediately reply to The Center Square’s request for comment.

The Chicago Police Department and other law enforcement agencies have often credited technology for helping to identify suspects and solve crimes.

An arrest report obtained by CWB Chicago described how facial recognition was used to identify the Venezuelan migrant charged with killing Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman on March 19.

Sheehan said Illinois Democrats are doing everything they can to handcuff law enforcement and coddle criminals.

“We have Gov. (J.B.) Pritzker talking about abolishing ICE, and that just sounds so much like defund the police,” Sheehan said.

Sheehan said the biometrics ban was filed in the same year the United States is celebrating its 250th anniversary.

“I think it would bring us back 250 years in terms of, you know, what our law enforcement is able to do in terms of crime,” Sheehan said.

As of Friday, HB 5521 remained in the House Judiciary - Civil Committee, with 227 witness slips filed in opposition and one witness slip filed by a proponent.

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