Facility helps police finger wrongdoers

JOLIET -- The three black cabinets sitting near the center of the white room comprise one of the state's greatest crime-fighting tools.

Although a few technicians are working at terminals nearby, it's quiet. The fans controlling the climate of the room provide the only sound accompanying the blinking lights from 20 hard drives stacked on the cabinets.

Visitors debate whether the silent machine is more reminiscent of I, Robot, WarGames or 2001, but they agree it's obvious the system is up to something.

It's the state's Automated Fingerprint Identification System, and it's searching its database of 45 million fingerprints.