Illinois HB3719: a model for press access to encrypted radio
As introduced, HB3719 would require a law enforcement agency that encrypts police scanner transmissions to give broadcast stations and newspapers real-time access, by license or otherwise.
Galesburg police dispatch moved to an encrypted StarCom21 talkgroup around June 1. HB3719 still has no hearing date.
Bill status
Why this bill matters
Since Chicago encrypted its police radio, journalists and transparency advocates across Illinois have been looking for a legislative answer.
The bill would give broadcast stations and newspapers real-time access to encrypted transmissions without requiring agencies to broadcast openly to everyone.
HB3719 would require real-time access, by license or otherwise, for broadcast stations and newspapers while leaving encryption in place for the general public—a targeted compromise that takes security concerns seriously.
If the bill passes, here's what Illinois listeners can lean on
HB3719 is a press-access win, not a universal decrypt—the public still needs the unencrypted layer. If you want to cover what remains open in Illinois (open downstate departments, federal, O'Hare aviation, NOAA weather) this is the standard stack.
Key provisions
Real-time access
A law enforcement agency that encrypts police scanner transmissions must provide real-time access to those transmissions, by license or otherwise.
Who gets access
Broadcast stations, broadcasting stations, radio broadcast stations, and newspapers.
Where it sits in law
It would add a new section to the Emergency Telephone System Act (50 ILCS 750/85), effective January 1, 2026 as introduced.
The coalition
Supporting organizations
- Illinois Press Association
- Society of Professional Journalists
- ACLU of Illinois
- Transparency advocacy groups
- Local news organizations
Opposition
- Illinois Fraternal Order of Police
- Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police
- Various police unions
The Chicago context
HB3719 follows Chicago's decision to encrypt police radio. The effects were immediate:
Journalists now learn about incidents from social media rather than professional monitoring
Police accounts of incidents go unverified for hours or days
Residents in crisis situations have no real-time information
Patterns of response and language used by officers vanished from public view
RTDNA has campaigned against police radio encryption since 2023. As Chicago began encrypting with a 30-minute delayed feed, the city's major news organisations published a joint open letter against the policy on December 12, 2022. The NBC 5 and FOX 32 copies list eight signatories; the ABC 7 copy lists a ninth, Block Club Chicago.
Legislative timeline
HB3719 filed with the Clerk by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford
First reading; referred to the Rules Committee
Assigned to the Judiciary - Criminal Committee on March 11, 2025; re-referred to the Rules Committee under Rule 19(a) on March 21, 2025
Galesburg planned to move its police and fire radio onto StarCom21 by June 1, and as of October 2026 RadioReference lists Galesburg police dispatch on an encrypted talkgroup. As of October 2026 RadioReference still lists the Knox County Sheriff's dispatch talkgroup in the clear. No hearing date for HB3719 has been scheduled. The $1.24 million Motorola radio contract was approved in October 2025. If HB3719 passed as introduced, an agency that encrypts would have to give broadcast stations and newspapers real-time access to those transmissions.
Awaiting committee hearing date
What makes this bill different
Previous transparency efforts failed because they tried to prevent encryption outright. HB3719 takes a different approach:
Failed approaches
- Banning encryption outright
- Requiring full public access
- Mandating delayed feeds for everyone
HB3719 approach
- Accepts encryption as reality
- Creates targeted press access
- Gives broadcasters and newspapers real-time access
How to support HB3719
Ask them to support HB3719 and push for a committee hearing
Show up if the bill is assigned to a committee and gets a hearing
Share your experience of how encryption has affected your community
Get involved through the Illinois Press Association or ACLU of Illinois
Illinois HB3719 and the national picture
If Illinois passes HB3719, other states have a working model to follow. If it fails, departments across the country will read the result clearly: encrypt without consequence.
What you can do
Encryption is a policy choice, not a technical requirement. Here are the next steps that have worked in Illinois and elsewhere.