Illinois police used drones to monitor Fourth of July parades, flexing their new surveillance powers

• Some Illinois police departments flew drones over their cities' July 4th parades to watch for danger.
• A state law passed in June now lets police use drones at public events.

Several Illinois police departments flexed their new authority this Fourth of July, flying drones over parades and gatherings in the state just weeks after state lawmakers allowed the surveillance tools for public events.

Thanks to a new state law passed last month in the wake of the Highland Park mass shooting that left 7 people dead, police can now use aerial drones to monitor the holiday parades below for danger.

Karl Walldorf, the chief of police in Lake Forest, a town about 6 miles north of Highland Park, told Insider that concern about another mass shooting happening in the area "certainly was a huge factor, probably the largest factor" in his department's decision to use drones to monitor the day's celebrations.

"Aside from helping to deter and respond to any violent crime," Walldorf said, "[Drones] allow you to monitor parking and traffic during the event, assist in locating lost kids, and help guide police/fire on the ground."

The neighboring cities of Vernon Hills and Deerfield also flew drones over their cities' Fourth of July events.

Shannon Holubetz, deputy chief of the Vernon Hills Police Department, said her city used a drone "as an additional safeguard against attacks like those in Highland Park and far too many other locations across the country."

The Highland Park Police did not confirm to Insider whether it used drones for its events this year, which included a Remembrance Ceremony, but the Lake and McHenry County Scanner reported that the department had planned to.

Illinois passed a law in June that for the first time in the state allows police to fly drones over public events to help with crime prevention, The Verge reported. Police were previously barred from using drones in nearly all cases under the state's Freedom from Drone Surveillance Act.