Illinois Public Safety Grants

Illinois Procurement Bills Are Proposals

SB 3998’s official status shows only referral to Senate Assignments, not enactment. The bill proposes rules concerning companies domiciled in foreign-adversary jurisdictions and federally banned corporations, plus bidder disclosures. Its draft 60-month penalty is not a present statewide contracting ban. SB 2370 likewise proposed military-installation and critical-infrastructure restrictions; its stated effective date in bill text does not make it law.

Illinois buyers should still follow their actual procurement code, grant and agency conditions. Do not assume that every imported drone is prohibited, or that a domestic label alone proves eligibility.

Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act

725 ILCS 167/10 and /15 generally bar a law-enforcement agency from gathering information by drone except under listed conditions. These include a probable-cause warrant, narrowly defined urgent action, non-investigative search and rescue, confined crime or crash scene photography, disaster response, a requested infrastructure inspection, limited PSAP-dispatched emergency response, and routed or special-event safety monitoring with notice and restrictions. A crime or crash scene flight over private property requires a warrant or lawful consent. The 2026 amendment appears in the current /15 source note; check the latest text before relying on an event exception.

Imminent-harm, escape or evidence-destruction use has a 48-hour limit and written notice to the local State’s Attorney within 24 hours of initiation. The Illinois Attorney General’s guidance explains the operational controls, though the statute should be consulted for later amendments.

Facial Recognition, Weapons, Retention and Reports

Under 725 ILCS 167/17 and /18, onboard facial recognition during a flight is prohibited, while later use of drone information with facial-recognition software is restricted with narrow statutory exceptions. Law-enforcement drones may not be equipped or used with lethal or nonlethal weapons.

Section 20 generally requires destruction within 30 days for information gathered under exceptions /15(1)–(6) or (9), and within 24 hours for routed or special-event footage under /15(10), subject to the statute’s preservation provisions. Requested infrastructure-inspection material is turned over to the requesting agency and law enforcement destroys its copies. Sections 35 and 45 require a public agency drone policy and annual ICJIA reporting for owners. Configure evidence workflows accordingly.

Federal Supply Chain and Data Security

OMB M-26-02 Appendix D implements the American Security Drone Act federal financial-assistance restrictions from December 22, 2025: award funds generally may not procure or be used in connection with operation of FASC-prohibited UAS, subject to federal exemptions and waivers. Section 889 covers specified telecom and video-surveillance equipment and services. The FCC Covered List, federal equipment authorizations, TAA-covered acquisitions and Blue UAS vetting are distinct tests. See the companion federal guide.

Illinois DoIT policies include an enterprise information-security policy and a Supply Chain Risk Management Policy for covered state IT resources, vendors and partners. Verify applicability for the purchasing entity. Counties and cities should review their own cybersecurity and records policies. Ask vendors about ownership, parts, cloud regions, encryption, patching, remote access, telemetry and deletion.

Choose the Right Illinois Funding Route

BJA’s FY 2026 Illinois local JAG allocations total $2,887,189 for listed jurisdictions. Only listed jurisdictions can seek direct local awards, and disparate groups submit one application through a fiscal agent with an MOU. The FY 2026 notice lists Grants.gov October 9 and JustGrants October 16, 2026 deadlines (Eastern time). Illinois’s state JAG allocation is $6,404,690, administered through the state route; it is not a second direct grant to every city.

SHSP and UASI require a terrorism-preparedness nexus and state investment approval. IDOT highway-safety grants target a documented traffic-safety purpose. SLCGP supports cybersecurity risk reduction, not a general drone fleet. Obtain written program approval for a particular aircraft or surveillance system and comply with FAA public-safety flight requirements.

Practical Illinois UAS Procurement Checklist

1. 1Map the money and buyer. Identify the grant, contract party, procurement authority, project scope, federal share and any local match.
2. 2Screen aircraft and connected components. Request manufacturer, ownership, country of origin, component, radio, controller, firmware, software and cloud details; check each applicable federal and award restriction.
3. 3Document the statutory flight basis. For a law-enforcement mission, record the applicable 725 ILCS 167/15 exception, warrant or lawful consent when required, mission purpose, location and time limits.
4. 4Configure privacy and retention. Disable prohibited onboard facial recognition and weapons; apply the statute’s use-specific 30-day or 24-hour deletion rules and authorized preservation exceptions.
5. 5Review cybersecurity. Map live feeds, imagery, telemetry, storage, remote support and update channels; assess vendor risk, access controls, encryption and incident response under applicable state or local policy.
6. 6Verify approvals and reporting. Secure grantor equipment approval and FAA authority, maintain the public drone policy and prepare the annual ICJIA report when the agency owns drones.
7. 7Keep an auditable file. Retain vendor evidence, award terms, legal mission basis, security review, procurement approval and operational records.