<p>After years of pressure from immigrant advocates, Cook County officials say they are working to further restrict data-sharing through a county vendor contract that critics say exposes a gap in local sanctuary protections.</p><p>The debate centers on <a class="Link" href="https://southsideweekly.com/cook-county-sheriff-data-loophole-lets-ice-access-immigrant-info/" target="_blank" >a contract with Appriss Insights LLC, the company that operates the state’s victim notification system known as VINE</a>, which alerts crime victims when an accused person is released from jail, transferred or experiences a change in custody status. </p><p>Privacy advocates have argued for years that data provided to Appriss could move beyond county systems and into commercial databases like LexisNexis that are accessible to agencies like U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.