Bill Would Stop Stalkers, Divorce Attorneys From Getting Private Illinois Tollway Data

From The Center Square:

By Cole Lauterbach

ILLINOIS — A proposed Illinois law would bar divorce lawyers, stalkers and others from accessing other people's personal travel data from the Illinois Tollway Authority.

NPR affiliate WBEZ reported last year about how the Illinois Tollway Authority routinely released I-Pass transponder data when subpoenaed in civil court cases.

“There’s an appropriate way for a government agency to reveal information and then there’s an inappropriate way for it to be used,” said state Rep. Margo McDermed, R-Mokena.

Her legislation would only allow the information to be released in the event of a criminal warrant, rather than a court order in a civil matter.

WBEZ profiled the plight of a woman whose personal information was turned over to a man who’d been stalking her after the man got a civil court order from an unwitting circuit judge.

In the event that a motorist's travel information is distributed, McDermed’s legislation would require the Tollway to notify the owner within five days, detailing when, what, and to whom the information was distributed.

The Illinois Tollway isn't a purely public entity, rather a toll-funded commission whose members are appointed by state officials.

California already has a similar law that bans the distribution of transponder data with the same exception for criminal search warrants.

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