TL;DR: Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy's HB 5521 would ban law enforcement from using facial recognition statewide. Then on March 19, 2026, an 18-year-old Loyola University freshman was shot dead in Rogers Park, Cassidy's own district. Facial recognition helped identify the suspect within days. Chicago police are pushing back hard with a highlight reel of murders solved by the tech. But critics point to Angela Lipps, the Tennessee grandmother jailed for five months because Clearview AI got it wrong. The bill has 227 witness slips filed in opposition. Cassidy isn't backing down.
UPDATE (March 30, 2026): A murder in Rep. Cassidy's own district has intensified the debate. On March 19, Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University freshman, was shot dead near the Rogers Park lakefront. Facial recognition helped identify the suspect (Jose Medina-Medina) within days. Police say it also verified his identity through U.S. Customs and Border Protection records. Cassidy's bill would have blocked that identification. She's pressing forward anyway.
What HB 5521 Would Ban
The bill is a total lockout. Illinois law enforcement would be prohibited from:[1]
- Using any biometric ID system: Facial recognition, iris scanners, fingerprint-matching software
- Partnering with vendors: No Clearview AI. No NEC. No workarounds through private contractors.
- Accessing federal databases: Can't use FBI or DHS biometric systems to run matches
- Using Secretary of State photos: No feeding surveillance footage through driver's license databases
The exceptions are narrow: cops can still fingerprint you after arrest. They can collect forensic evidence at crime scenes. And the Secretary of State can use facial recognition to verify identity when issuing mobile driver's licenses. That's it.
The Enforcement Teeth
HB 5521 isn't toothless.[1]
If police violate the law, you can sue. So can the Illinois Attorney General. The damages:
- $1,000 per negligent violation
- $5,000 per intentional or reckless violation
- Plus attorney fees
- Plus a court order deleting the illegally collected data
That's the same penalty structure Illinois uses for BIPA, the Biometric Information Privacy Act that's bankrupted companies for collecting worker fingerprints without consent.
What Chicago PD Says It Solved
Chicago police aren't giving this up quietly. They've compiled a highlight reel of cases cracked with facial recognition:[2]
The Lincoln Park Murder (April 2025)
A killing that shocked Lincoln Park. Detectives tracked the suspect to a Red Line train, ran CTA video through facial recognition, got a match.
The Blue Line Stabbing (January 2026)
37-year-old Dominique Pollion was stabbed to death on a Blue Line train in the Loop. High-quality CTA footage went into the Secretary of State's driver's license database. Facial recognition narrowed the search.
The Pink Line Christmas Shooting (December 2025)
Two days before Christmas, 44-year-old Raymond Harrison was shot during an altercation on a Pink Line train near Washington-Wells. Detectives fed the footage through facial recognition. Pedro Villareal came back as a possible match.
The Wrigleyville Kidnapping (March 2017)
One of the earliest facial recognition cases. O'Brian Henigan abducted a woman at gunpoint as she unlocked her door in the 3700 block of North Fremont. Facial recognition helped put him away.
Chicago cops say the tech has helped solve murders, robberies, kidnappings, and sexual assaults, especially violent crimes on the CTA.
The Murder in Cassidy's District
On March 19, 2026, Sheridan Gorman was walking near Tobey Prinz Beach with friends around 1 a.m. A man hiding at the end of a pier opened fire. Gorman, 18, was shot in the back as she ran for cover. She died at the scene.[6]
The murder happened in Rogers Park, Rep. Cassidy's own district.
Detectives analyzed surveillance video from a nearby apartment building. They tracked the suspect's movements before and after the shooting. Then they ran his image through facial recognition.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection returned a match: Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national who entered the U.S. illegally in 2023.[7]
Inside his apartment, police allegedly found the clothing from the surveillance video and a .40-caliber handgun matching shell casings from the scene. Medina-Medina was charged with first-degree murder.[6]
Under HB 5521, that facial recognition search couldn't have happened. The bill bans law enforcement from accessing federal biometric databases.
Retired Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy called the proposed ban "crippling." He compared it to "building a wall and taking away the bricks at the foundation."[8]
Cassidy's response: "It is tragic that some people want to use individual tragedies to justify the use of flawed technologies."[8]
The Numbers Are Against Her
As of March 28, HB 5521 had 227 witness slips filed in opposition, and exactly one filed in support.[9]
The bill remains in the House Judiciary - Civil Committee. No hearing date has been set.
Law enforcement groups are organizing against it. Prosecutors are lining up to testify. The math doesn't look good for Cassidy.
But BIPA didn't look like it would pass either. Illinois has a history of surprising the surveillance industry.
The Problem That Made National News
On March 29, CNN ran a major story about Angela Lipps, the Tennessee grandmother who spent five months in a North Dakota jail because Clearview AI said she committed crimes 1,000 miles from her home.[10]
Lipps was arrested at gunpoint in July 2025. The charge: bank fraud in Fargo. The evidence: facial recognition flagged her face. The problem: she was in Tennessee the entire time, buying cigarettes and depositing Social Security checks.
She sat in jail until Christmas Eve, when her attorneys proved the AI was wrong. She'd lost her house, her car, and her dog waiting for a trial that would never come.
Fargo PD apologized. They changed their facial recognition policy.[4] Too late for Lipps.
This is what opponents of HB 5521 don't want to talk about. When the tech works, it catches murderers. When it fails, it destroys innocent lives.
The ACLU's position: facial recognition is "demonstrably inaccurate." The misidentifications aren't random: they disproportionately hit Black faces.[1] Lipps is white. The technology can fail anyone.
The Federal Angle
The ACLU's legislative brief cites a Department of Homeland Security case where officials scanned faces and fingerprints of over 100,000 individuals against databases containing 200 million images.[1]
The Illinois AG is suing over it.
HB 5521 would cut Illinois law enforcement out of those federal programs entirely. No accessing FBI face databases. No DHS biometric tools. If it passes, Illinois cops are on their own.
Illinois Already Has America's Strongest Biometric Law
Illinois passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) in 2008. It's the gold standard for biometric privacy in America.[5]
BIPA requires companies to get written consent before collecting fingerprints, faceprints, or other biometric data. It allows people to sue for violations. Companies have paid hundreds of millions in settlements.
But BIPA exempts law enforcement. Cops can collect whatever they want.
HB 5521 closes that loophole.
What Happens Now
HB 5521 was introduced on February 6, 2026. It's sitting in the House Judiciary - Civil Committee with 227 witness slips against it.[9]
The political pressure just got worse. A murder in Cassidy's own district. Facial recognition cracking the case. National news coverage of Angela Lipps giving the other side ammunition.
Chicago PD will bring detectives to testify about murders solved. The ACLU will counter with wrongful arrests, now including a story CNN made national news.
Cassidy's response to the Loyola murder: using tragedies to justify "flawed technologies" is tragic.[8]
She's not backing down. Neither are the cops.
What You Can Do
Contact Your State Rep
Find your Illinois state representative. Ask where they stand on HB 5521. The bill won't pass without pressure.
Follow the Hearings
The Illinois General Assembly streams committee hearings. Watch when HB 5521 comes up. See who supports it and who's getting police union money.
Know Your BIPA Rights
You already have rights under BIPA for private companies. If an employer, retailer, or app collected your biometrics without consent, you may have a claim.
Share the Fargo Case
The Tennessee woman jailed for 108 days. It's the clearest example of what happens when facial recognition gets it wrong.
References
- ACLU of Illinois - HB 5521: Biometric Surveillance Act (2026)
- CWB Chicago - Facial recognition helps cops solve some of Chicago's most heinous crimes. This state legislator wants to shut it down. (March 23, 2026)
- MPR News - Fargo police's use of AI raises questions after suspect says facial recognition failed (March 18, 2026)
- InForum - Fargo police change facial recognition policy after wrongful arrest (March 24, 2026)
- Illinois General Assembly - Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA)
- Block Club Chicago - Man Charged In Loyola Student's Slaying Hid Near Lakefront, Shot At Fleeing Students (March 22, 2026)
- ABC7 Chicago - Man charged in murder of Loyola student Sheridan Gorman (March 2026)
- Fox News - Facial recognition helped crack alleged student murder, new bill could ban it: ret. cop (March 28, 2026)
- The Center Square - Lawmaker: Biometrics ban would put law enforcement back in the Stone Age (March 27, 2026)
- CNN - Police used AI facial recognition to arrest a Tennessee woman for crimes committed in a state she says she's never visited (March 29, 2026)
Published: March 26, 2026 | Updated: March 30, 2026