SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Laura Murphy’s law to bring to justice to victims of human trafficking by expanding the expressway camera program to target traffickers was signed into law Monday.

“With this law we send a clear message: Illinois is not a safe haven for human traffickers,” said Murphy (D-Des Plaines). “By empowering law enforcement with the tools necessary to identify human traffickers in real time, we are helping with investigations, increasing public safety and saving lives.”

Human traffickers often use highways to transport victims. Truck stops in particular are often hotspots for this kind of illicit activity and those vehicles can be tracked using an expressway camera.

Building on Murphy’s efforts to address public safety in 2022, the new law will expand the existing expressway camera program to Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties and enable police to use expressway cameras for human trafficking and involuntary servitude investigations. Previously, the camera program was limited to target gun violence, vehicular hijacking and other offenses.

Law enforcement has used these cameras to great effect in the 20 counties previously authorized for their operation. According to the Illinois State Police, automated license plate readers helped identify a suspect or a witness in 82% of interstate shootings in 2024.

To protect the privacy of everyday Illinoisans, the law exempts images captured on expressway cameras from Freedom of Information Act requests. This is in line with state laws prohibiting data collection tools like license plate readers from being used by out-of-state law enforcement to target people traveling to and around Illinois to access reproductive and gender-affirming care.

“Public safety is always a concern for the people of Illinois, and by ensuring bad actors can’t access these images to stalk or track someone, we’re protecting the average citizen,” said Murphy. “Everyone deserves to have their safety and sensitive data protected.”

House Bill 3339 was signed into law on Monday and takes effect immediately.