Mayor Brandon Johnson is now being forced to reconsider his decision to shut down the controversial ShotSpotter system — a move that set off a search for police technologies that some business leaders have slammed as slipshod and frantic.
SoundThinking, ShotSpotter’s parent company, is among eight firms that submitted proposals to provide citywide “gun violence detection technology,” according to records from the bidding process, which ended Friday.
ShotSpotter relies on acoustic sensors designed to pick up gunfire, but it was slammed by Johnson as “a walkie-talkie on a pole” and a waste of taxpayer dollars. SoundThinking CEO Ralph Clark wouldn’t comment.
A source with knowledge of the ongoing procurement process said Johnson’s administration seemingly didn’t weigh the ramifications of nixing ShotSpotter in September, leading to “a mad dash” to open up bidding.
Attendees at a meeting of prospective bidders in February criticized city officials for providing limited information. Some flew from out of state for what amounted to a terse, 15-minute reading of the document soliciting proposals.
“This was definitely out of the ordinary,” said one attendee who asked to remain anonymous.
Kathleen Griggs, founder and CEO of Databuoy, traveled from Vienna, Virginia. Her firm sells the Shotpoint system, touted as “the fastest, most precise fully automated gunshot detection and localization platform.”
Griggs said city officials “were very curt,” only relaying information that had already been reported and directing attendees to submit any questions online. She said there didn’t seem to be any will to analyze the nuances and differences in the various detection technologies on the market.
Her firm ultimately chose not to submit a bid. “We’re going to go and help whatever cities actually want us there,” she said.
A mayoral spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.
A range of options
Fifteen companies had previously pitched a range of technologies through a “request for information,” and representatives for 24 firms attended the brief meeting at Public Safety Headquarters.
But only eight submitted bids, although some have partnered with other firms.
Applicants vying for the new contract offer some form of gunshot-detection technology — and some sought to set themselves apart from ShotSpotter.
Malcolm Weems, founder of TeQuity Partners in Bronzeville, said his proposal was formulated to address the administration’s issues with ShotSpotter.
Weems’ company is working to sell the city Dragonfly, a system developed by Albuquerque-based EAGL that flags gunfire using what he described as “energy signatures,” instead of sounds.
“What we’re hoping to do is deliver something that is a lot more accurate than what we had with ShotSpotter,” he said, and “cheaper.” He noted the technology is already being used in Cicero.
Before becoming a finance manager at the Chicago Park District and working under governors Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn, Weems lost his father to gun violence. “So it’s a personal issue for me, too,” he said.
Tim Kelly, president and co-founder of Tupelo, Mississippi-based Crime Gun Intelligence Technologies, submitted a proposal for its FireFLY LE technology, a gunshot detection system initially designed for the military.
Using an array of microphones, Kelly said it can accurately pinpoint the location of a shooting — even if multiple sounds are hitting the sensors.
“The last thing you ever want to do, from a law enforcement perspective, is send a patrol officer to the wrong location,” Kelly said, adding that a false alarm could lead to an unconstitutional search or arrest.
Jelware, a startup based in West Palm Beach, Florida, has pitched technologies that use mobile devices to detect gun violence and alert residents and law enforcement to nearby shootings.
Founder Jelani Jacobs insisted that “hardware products have been failing communities,” an apparent knock on ShotSpotter and its competitors that rely on fixed sensors.
“Everyone has their electronic devices 24/7, and that’s what’s going to be their detector,” founder Jacobs said. “This time we’re living [in], everything is going to be digital, contactless.”
Another applicant, Tampa-based Blue Hammer Technology, has an artificial intelligence platform that’s used to match forensic evidence found at different crime scenes.
It allows police to take images from thousands of cameras “and look for patterns to identify criminals or weapons,” Blue Hammer’s Mike Fekety previously told the Sun-Times. But the AI model can also probe text- or audio-based information to similarly find matches.
Another tool developed by the company is used to locate a specific cellphone by “sniffing the airwaves” for a unique number associated with its SIM card, Fekety said in the earlier interview.
“That’s why all the terrorists use the flip phones because there’s no GPS, or they use the pagers,” Fekety added. He declined to comment this week.
Diego Lopez, senior solutions partner for the Norwegian gunshot detection firm Triangula, said Blue Hammer is bidding jointly with his company, Microsoft, Samsung and others. Lopez attended the February meeting with city officials, along with representatives from Microsoft.
Questions remain
It’s unclear what the three other bidders have proposed.
Rolling Meadows-based Silver Star Protection Group, West Loop-based Motorola Solutions and Austin-based Lyons View Manufacturer and Supply all declined to comment.
Silver Star is a security firm that caters to cannabis dispensaries and other business, while Motorola Solutions holds large city contracts for camera infrastructure and radio equipment.
Lyons View President Joshua Davis is the son of Stephen L. Davis, a former member of the board of directors of the Illinois Tollway. Lyons View has done contracting and subcontracting work for the tollway, including when Stephen L. Davis was on the board.
Joshua Davis sits on the board of commissioners of the DuPage Airport Authority, a body his father previously led. He also serves as president and CEO of The Will Group, a company his father founded.
The Will Group has been involved in various street light projects, the O’Hare International Airport expansion and the construction of New Kennedy-King College, according to its website.
