How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Illinois

The public records law that gets you the video

Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140

5 business days, plus 5 if extended

FOIA covers every public body, police departments and sheriffs included, and each must make its public records available to any person except as the Act’s exemptions allow (5 ILCS 140/3(a)). Your request must be in writing, delivered in person, by mail, fax or other means the agency makes available; an emailed request must appear entirely in the body of the email, because an agency need not open attachments or links (§3(c)). The agency may not require a standard form or ask why you want the records, except to decide whether the request is commercial or whether to waive fees. It must comply or deny in writing within 5 business days after receiving the request (§3(d)); it may extend that by up to 5 more business days for reasons listed in §3(e), such as records stored elsewhere or the need to review them for exempt material, but it must tell you the reason and the new date within the first 5 business days (§3(f)). Silence past either deadline counts as a denial, and an agency that misses its deadline and later provides the records may not charge you for them (§3(d), (f)). The deadlines do not apply to commercial, recurrent-requester or voluminous requests (§3(i)). Since January 1, 2026, an agency that reasonably believes a request was not submitted by a person may, within 5 business days, ask you to verify that you are one, and the deadline pauses until you do (§3(j)). If a request is so broad that complying would be unduly burdensome, the agency must first offer to confer with you to narrow it (§3(g)). Fees: the first 50 black and white letter or legal pages are free and further pages may cost no more than 15 cents each; for an electronic record, such as video, the agency may charge the actual cost of the recording medium, and for a non-commercial, non-voluminous request it may not charge for search, review or other personnel costs (§6(a), (b)). You may ask for a fee waiver by stating the specific purpose and that the waiver is in the public interest (§6(c)). Example, Illinois State Police only: its FOIA page says there is a charge for imaging products under 20 Ill. Adm. Code 1298, whose fee section lists $20 for a CD or DVD under 80 MB, $40 for 80 to 160 MB and $100 above 160 MB (flash drives $40, $60 and $120); the same FAQ page says ISP cannot take credit or debit cards and requires a check or money order. How that ISP rule fits with §6(a)’s actual-cost limit we could not determine from official sources.

Police body camera and dashcam video

Body cam: drivers on camera may get it

Body camera recordings are governed by the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act, 50 ILCS 706/10-20, and FOIA exempts them except to the extent that Act allows (5 ILCS 140/7.5(cc)). Law enforcement agencies had to put body cameras on all their officers on a schedule by population that ended January 1, 2025, with exceptions such as court security officers (50 ILCS 706/10-15). Cameras must be on whenever an officer in uniform is responding to calls or engaged in law enforcement activity, which the Act defines to include traffic control and investigations (§10-20(a)(3); §10-10). Under §10-20(b), a recording is not subject to FOIA except in three cases: (1) a flagged recording where the subject had a reasonable expectation of privacy, is a victim or witness, and gives written permission; (2) any other flagged recording, flagged meaning a complaint, a firearm discharge, use of force, an arrest or detention, or resulting death or bodily harm; and (3) on request, any recording, flagged or not, to the subject of the encounter or the subject’s attorney, or the officer or the officer’s legal representative. The Attorney General’s Public Access Bureau, in its June 3, 2025 training on law enforcement video, says the three are independent grounds (Binding Opinion 19-001), that the “subject of the encounter” is the person who appears in the recording and interacts with an officer, and that a driver who asks for body camera video of a crash is the subject for the time that driver is on camera interacting with the officer, so the video likely falls under §10-20(b)(3) and should be disclosed to the driver or the driver’s attorney, with redaction of the other driver likely. The same training says body camera video of a crash response is generally not flagged unless someone was arrested or the crash resulted from an officer’s use of force, and that an insurance company that is not one of the drivers or their attorneys may not get unflagged video (the driver should file the request). Released video must be redacted to remove anyone who is not the officer, a subject of the encounter, or directly involved, and FOIA’s other exemptions still apply (§10-20(b)). Retention is short: recordings must be kept 90 days and then destroyed unless flagged (or kept because a supervisor designates them for training, §10-20(a)(8)), and a flagged recording must be kept at least 2 years after flagging, longer if used in a proceeding (§10-20(a)(7)); for retention, a recording is also flagged when a supervisor, prosecutor, defendant or court finds it has evidentiary value in a criminal prosecution, and a detention or arrest counts but a traffic stop that led only to a minor traffic offense does not. Dashcam video is different: the Attorney General’s training says in-squad camera recordings are not regulated by the Body Camera Act and are presumed subject to FOIA unless an exemption applies. The Criminal Code’s eavesdropping exemptions require agencies to keep recordings made with in-car video cameras, in police vehicles and with taser-mounted cameras (720 ILCS 5/14-3(h), (h-5) and (h-10)) for 90 days, or until final disposition and a court order if made as part of an arrest or deemed evidence in a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding (§14-3(h-15)). Example, Illinois State Police only: it has a separate Video Request Form, asks you to name the case or report number, location, people involved and only the portions you need, and takes subpoenas at isp.subpoenas@illinois.gov, not through its FOIA unit.

When police can hold video back

Withheld only if release would interfere

FOIA section 7(1)(d) lets a law enforcement agency withhold records created for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that disclosure would, among other things, (i) interfere with pending or actually and reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted by the agency that received the request, (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial hearing, (iv) unavoidably identify a confidential source or a person who gave information to police, except that local agencies must provide the identities of traffic crash witnesses and traffic crash reports unless that would interfere with an active criminal investigation by the agency, (vi) endanger anyone’s life or safety, or (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation by the agency that received the request (5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)). The Attorney General’s 2025 training gives §7(1)(d)(vii) as an example of an exemption that can apply to dashcam video and to third-party security video police collected. A denial must be in writing, cite the exemption and give a detailed factual basis (§9), and in court the agency must prove the exemption by clear and convincing evidence (§11(f)). The statute sets no date when the exemption ends; it applies only while disclosure would cause the harm, and the State Police FOIA page notes that records of an open, ongoing investigation may be withheld and that it works to release records once cases are closed. So if video of a crash under criminal investigation is withheld, ask again when the case ends.

Do traffic cameras in Illinois record?

No IDOT recording statement found

We found no official Illinois Department of Transportation statement on whether its traffic cameras record or how long any footage is kept. What the law does say: the Expressway Camera Act (605 ILCS 140/5, which is scheduled to be repealed on July 1, 2028) directs the Illinois State Police, IDOT and the Illinois Tollway to run a program adding cameras along expressways and the state highway system in 25 listed counties (among them Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Will, Madison, St. Clair, Sangamon, Peoria and Winnebago) and on Lake Shore Drive. Images from those cameras, including license plate images, may be used by law enforcement to investigate vehicular hijacking, terrorism, motor vehicle theft and forcible felonies, to detect expressway hazards and to manage incidents, and images exported to a law enforcement database must be deleted within 120 days unless relevant to an ongoing investigation or pending trial. FOIA exempts images from cameras under the Expressway Camera Act, and ISP’s license plate reader information, from public release (5 ILCS 140/7.5(fff), inoperative on and after July 1, 2028), so do not expect to get those images through a FOIA request. For other IDOT or Tollway camera footage, send a FOIA request at once naming the camera location, date and time window, and ask whether any recording or still image exists: IDOT takes requests at dot.foiaofficer@illinois.gov (FOIA Officer, Office of Chief Counsel, 2300 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62764), and the Tollway says it will tell you the status of a request within 5 working days. City-run cameras are each city’s own practice, so ask the city in writing too.

Red-light and speed cameras

Red-light in 8 counties; images private

Red-light cameras are authorized only in the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison, McHenry, St. Clair and Will and the municipalities in them (625 ILCS 5/11-208.6(m)). Speed cameras run by local governments are an exclusive state power except under §11-208.8 (§11-208.6(c)), which allows automated speed enforcement only in safety zones near schools and park district facilities and applies only to municipalities with a population of 1,000,000 or more (§11-208.8(s)). The Illinois State Police may also run speed cameras in highway construction or maintenance zones while workers are present (625 ILCS 7/10), and local governments may use cameras at railroad crossings (§11-1201.1) and on school bus stop arms (§11-208.9). Access to the images is narrow. Red-light, speed, school bus and rail crossing images are confidential and available only to the alleged violator and to government and law enforcement agencies for adjudication, statistical or other governmental purposes (§§11-208.6(g), 11-208.8(i), 11-208.9(h), 11-1201.1(e-1)); the ticketed owner gets a website address to view them (§11-208.6(b-5)). Work zone camera photographs may be used only as evidence of the work zone speeding violation and are available only to the vehicle’s owner, the offender and the offender’s attorney, the judiciary, the State’s Attorney and law enforcement (625 ILCS 7/25(d)). So unless you received the ticket, you generally cannot get an automated camera image of your crash through FOIA; ask a lawyer whether a court order is available in your case.

If your request is denied

Public Access Counselor in 60 days

A denial must tell you in writing the reasons, the exemption claimed, the people responsible, and your right to review by the Public Access Counselor and to judicial review (5 ILCS 140/9(a)). If the agency misses its deadline, you are treated as having exhausted your administrative remedies (§9(c)). We found no internal appeal to the agency in FOIA; instead you have two routes. (1) File a request for review with the Public Access Counselor in the Attorney General’s office not later than 60 days after the date of the final denial; it must be in writing, signed, and include a copy of your request and any responses from the agency (§9.5(a)). The counselor may decide the complaint is unfounded; otherwise it forwards it to the agency within 7 business days, the agency has 7 business days to produce the records for review and may answer, and you may reply within 7 business days (§9.5(c), (d)). The Attorney General must issue a binding opinion within 60 days after receiving the request, unless the counselor extends that by up to 30 business days in writing or resolves the matter another way, such as mediation (§9.5(f)). Reach the Public Access Bureau at 877-299-3642, public.access@ilag.gov, or 500 South Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701. (2) Sue in circuit court (§11); if you prevail, the court shall award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, and for a willful or bad-faith violation it shall impose a civil penalty of $2,500 to $5,000 per occurrence (§11(i), (j)). If you sue while a review is pending, tell the counselor, who will then close the review (§9.5(g)). Example, Illinois State Police only: it invites you to contact ISP.Appeals.FOIA@illinois.gov before going to the counselor. You may want to ask a lawyer before filing suit.

What to do now

1. 1

   Send FOIA requests today

   Email the FOIA officer of the agency that worked the crash, with the request in the body of the email. Give the date, time window, location and report number, and ask for body camera and dashcam video.

2. 2

   Ask for your own encounter

   Say you are a driver who spoke with the officer on camera, or have your attorney ask for you. That is the ground for release of unflagged body camera video.

3. 3

   Ask for preservation in writing

   Unflagged body camera video must be destroyed after 90 days and in-car video may be erased after 90 days, so ask each agency in the same letter to preserve every recording of the crash.

4. 4

   Request review within 60 days

   If you are denied, file a signed request for review with the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor within 60 days, with a copy of your request and the denial.

5. 5

   Look beyond public cameras

   Expressway camera images are exempt from FOIA and red-light images go only to the ticketed driver, so private video matters most: nearby businesses, buses and other drivers’ dashcams. Post the crash on the bounty board.

Frequently asked questions