{
  "id": 19343185,
  "title": "Flock Safety Found Handing Out Fat Sacks of Cash to Friendly Politicians",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/flock-safety-found-handing-out-fat-sacks-of-cash-to-friendly",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-10T14:19:19.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Futurism",
    "slug": "futurism",
    "url": "https://futurism.com/future-society/flock-safety-surveillance-lobbying-politicians"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Flock Safety, a controversial AI surveillance company, has been distributing substantial sums of money to political candidates in the United States, particularly in Illinois, in order to further its expansion of automatic license plate readers (ALPRs). According to a recent report by the Chicago Sun Times, the company has donated almost $500,000 to local and state campaigns in Illinois over the past two years. This political spending spree was facilitated through contracts with lobbying firms such as Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, which represents other high-profile companies, and Mercury Public Affairs, which lobbied federal politicians. Flock Safety's overall lobbying expenditures amounted to over $2 million nationwide, as the company's surveillance network has expanded to include nearly 150,000 ALPRs. Despite these efforts, voters rejected Flock Safety's initiatives in numerous locations, with measures requiring voter consent for the installation of new surveillance tools or the termination of existing contracts failing.",
  "summary": "They're pulling out the big guns. The post Flock Safety Found Handing Out Fat Sacks of Cash to Friendly Politicians appeared first on Futurism .",
  "key_points": [
    "Flock Safety donated nearly $500,000 to Illinois political campaigns",
    "Contracts with lobbying firms facilitated political spending",
    "Voter rejection of initiatives in multiple locations"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}