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In a significant development within Illinois, a newly proposed bill in the state legislature could have far-reaching implications for law enforcement operations. This legislation, introduced just a day before a tragic incident involving the death of Sheridan Gorman, seeks to prohibit the use of biometric identification systems by police. This move has sparked concern among law enforcement veterans, including a former chief of detectives from the Chicago Police Department, who warns that such a ban could hinder police efforts statewide.
The case in question involves the arrest of Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, who was apprehended on Friday following the alleged murder of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old student from Loyola University Chicago. The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning, marking a devastating loss for the community.
Medina-Medina, who entered the United States in 2023 and was initially detained by the U.S. Border Patrol before being released under the Biden administration, is accused of having fatally shot Gorman on a pier around 1:06 a.m. on March 19. The arrest report outlines these details, further intensifying the spotlight on the legislation in question.
Illinois State Representative Kelly Cassidy, a Democrat, introduced the controversial bill, aiming to restrict police use of various biometric tools, including fingerprint-matching technology, facial recognition software, and iris scanning systems. Notably, the bill excludes DNA from the list of prohibited biometric identifiers, according to its text.
This legislation comes amidst growing debate over privacy and the role of technology in modern policing. The introduction of the bill, juxtaposed with the tragic events surrounding Gorman’s death, has heightened the discussion about the balance between civil liberties and public safety, as highlighted by the images of both Rep. Cassidy and the victim, Sheridan Gorman, shared widely on social media.
If the bill was enacted, law enforcement agencies in the state wouldn’t be able to use the Secretary of State’s facial-recognition database.
Illinois House Bill 5521, known as the Illinois Biometric Surveillance Act, was introduced on Feb. 6.
Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, was also arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, DHS confirmed. (DHS)
Notably, Medina-Medina was identified with the help of facial recognition. Images of the suspect were sent to a police database, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified the suspect as Medina. He was arrested at his apartment in Rogers Park, according to the arrest report.
Retired Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told Fox News Digital that without the help of facial recognition, his identification and arrest would have “absolutely” been delayed.
“This case was cracked in large part due to looking at the videos from the cameras in the area surrounding the murder and to run them through different systems until they found a match,” Roy said.
Roy said that if passed, the bill’s effects would be “crippling” for detectives.
Sheridan Gorman was killed after being shot in the head while taking a walk with friends at Tobey Prinz Beach, located less than a mile from the Illinois’ campus, around 1 a.m. on Thursday, according to reports. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
“It’s gonna be just short of crippling detective work,” Roy said. “You have to be able to identify people. When you build a case, it’s not just based on an identification, it’s just not based on a picture, it’s based on the combination of a lot of things. It’s based on identification. It’s based on witness accounts. It’s based on physical evidence. It’s like building a wall. And if you take away the bricks that are at the foundation of that wall, the wall is going to crumble.”
Gorman, just 18 when she was killed, was described by loved ones as someone who radiated an “unmistakable warmth” and poured her energy into things she cared about, like her family, friends and community.
While Gorman is from New York, close ones say she brought that same type of energy to Loyola University Chicago, where she “had begun building the next chapter of her life,” according to her obituary.
Fox News Digital obtained an arrest report that shows Medina-Medina was seen unmasked while waiting for an elevator in his apartment building’s lobby. An engineer for the building told detectives that he knew the suspect, noting he had a “very distinct limp and gait.”
Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman poses with the school’s mascot during a campus event in an undated photo. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
That gait, in addition to a positive identification from facial recognition, resulted in Medina-Medina’s arrest.
Medina-Medina told officials in 2023 that he was living at Leone Beach Park fieldhouse in Rogers Park in 2023, which was being used as a city-sponsored shelter for migrants. The shelter closed in 2024, according to South Side Weekly.
In an earlier statement to Fox News Digital, the Gorman family said they are disappointed with policies that allowed Medina-Medina to remain in the country.
“When systems fail—whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act—the consequences are not abstract. They are real. And in our case, they are permanent,” the family wrote.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cassidy said that people shouldn’t look at “anecdotes.”
“Just as with all bills introduced in our body, HB5521 is a work in progress aimed at curtailing the abuses of biometric data we’ve most recently seen during Operation Midway Blitz. It is tragic that some people want to use individual tragedies to justify the use of flawed technologies that risk the private information of millions in our state,” Cassidy said.
“Rather than look at anecdotes, we should know that facial recognition technology is demonstrably inaccurate. It is curious that in discussing this issue, we hear about particularly heinous and troubling crimes, but nothing about people being misidentified by facial recognition technology and held for hours (if not days) based on system errors. House Bill 5521 does not limit state and local police from investigating crimes. It simply protects the privacy of millions of Illinois residents simply because they have an Illinois driver’s license.”