A South Side alderperson is trying to force a vote on a measure that would require Chicago’s top cop to renew the city’s contract with ShotSpotter just weeks before the controversial gunshot detection system is expected to be taken offline.
Ald. David Moore (17th) introduced the ordinance in mid-July, pushing to give Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling the power to extend the existing deal with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, or enter into a new contract for similar technology.
Moore told the Sun-Times he plans to use a parliamentary maneuver at next week’s City Council meeting to force a vote on the ordinance, which has languished in the rules committee, where legislation often goes to die.
It marks the Council’s latest effort to keep the ShotSpotter system intact after Mayor Brandon Johnson made good on a campaign promise to cut the cord. ShotSpotter is expected to be shut down on Sept. 22, and the system will be decommissioned by Nov. 22.
But Moore insisted the Council has the power to undercut Johnson’s contracting authority, noting department heads “have a right” to make their own deals. He claimed he has the votes to resurrect and pass the ordinance.
To do so, two-thirds of the 50-member Council — 34 members — must first suspend the rules for immediate consideration of an ordinance that has not been approved by committee. Then, 26 members must vote to pass it.
“It gives the ability for CPD to enter into a contract with ShotSpotter,” Moore said. “The mayor does not have to procure it.”
Moore noted a two-thirds majority previously voted to approve an order he introduced requiring the Council to be notified in advance of any decision to “remove any violence prevention funding,” including for ShotSpotter.
The order sought to block Johnson from pulling the technology from any ward without a meeting of the public safety committee and approval by the full Council.
Johnson considered that order so nebulous, he didn’t even bother to veto it, although he made it clear to reporters that it had “no bearing” on his authority as the city’s chief executive.
On Wednesday, Moore hinted at a possible court fight pitting the mayor against the Council majority determined to keep ShotSpotter.
“There’s an order out there that the administration is not adhering to,” Moore said. “The order says you cannot end the contract or take funding away from [a ward] from a public safety standpoint until you come before the City Council.
“Now, he can choose to ignore that order. But that order passed,” Moore said.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), a former Chicago police sergeant who chairs the Council’s police and fire committee, is among those who voted in May to tie Johnson’s hands on ShotSpotter.
Taliaferro said he shares Moore’s desire to keep the technology, but he’s also a realist. He said he does not believe the Council has the power to “compel” Snelling to renew the ShotSpotter contract.
“When it comes down to contracting, I believe only the mayor can sign contracts on behalf of the city of Chicago,” Taliaferro said. “I don’t know the authority that Supt. Snelling would have in signing a multimillion dollar contract which would obligate the city.”
Taliaferro said he remains “hopeful” Johnson will change his mind about gunshot detection technology.
“We haven’t reached that [Sept. 22] deadline yet … so things can change,” Taliaferro said. “When the Egyptians believed there was no hope, Moses parted the sea and crossed. At the last minute, things can change. Even the Bears can win their first game.”
Johnson has stood by his decision to shut down ShotSpotter, currently operational in 12 of the city’s 22 police districts.
Mayoral spokesperson Angel Edmond said law enforcement officials and community stakeholders now plan to “assess tools and programs that effectively increase both safety and trust” before ShotSpotter is decommissioned in November.
“A working group has been formed that is representative across city departments, partner institutions and communities to review and present recommendations regarding community safety and the city’s use of first responder technology,” Edmond said in a statement.
“The goal is to deploy resources on the most effective strategies and tactics proven to accelerate the current downward trend in violent crime.”
Gary Bunyard, senior vice president of SoundThinking, held out hope for an extension, saying that “grassroots efforts across Chicago are fighting for ShotSpotter.”
“ShotSpotter is a valuable lifesaving tool that helps the Chicago Police Department identify gunfire and locate gunshot victims that otherwise may go unreported to 911,” Bunyard said in a statement.
The city has spent more than $53 million since 2018 to use the technology. Meanwhile, a mountain of research has called into question its efficacy and reliability.
Johnson announced in February that he was ending the city’s relationship with ShotSpotter, setting off a frantic push to secure a costly contract extension that allowed the city to keep the technology over the historically violent summer months and during the Democratic National Convention.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), one of Johnson’s key allies, said the mayor “had a very clear policy to discontinue a software that was highly criticized by academics, the inspector general and by community members who have seen the consequences.”
Sigcho-Lopez said his colleagues appear to be overreaching in trying to push Snelling to extend the ShotSpotter deal or enter into a new contract for gunshot-detection technology.
“We have a mayor that was elected to make those decisions,” he said.
Ald. David Moore plans to force a vote on an ordinance that would give Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling the power to extend the city’s deal for ShotSpotter, but at least 2 Council members cast doubt on Moore’s maneuver.
After a long, emotionally charged debate, a defiant City Council voted 34-14 to lay the groundwork to tie Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hands when it comes to canceling the contract with the gunshot detection technology known as ShotSpotter.
By Fran Spielman
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
On the eve of a City Council showdown, Ralph Clark argued “people will die” if Mayor Brandon Johnson is allowed to follow through on his promise to cancel the controversial gunshot detection technology contract on Nov. 22.
By Fran Spielman
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
The statistics, compiled by the Chicago Police Department, show response times over the last six years were more than two minutes quicker with a ShotSpotter alert than the gunshot detection alert accompanied by a 911 call.
Votes on $70 million to help migrants and the bond issue to fund housing and economic development now are set for Friday. The Council was, however, poised to approve a slew of other measures.
By Fran Spielman
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
The Police and Fire Committee approved an order championed by South Side Ald. David Moore that would empower the local alderperson to decide whether to keep ShotSpotter in their ward and prohibit the mayor from eliminating the technology in a ward where the local alderperson supports it without a full Council vote.
By Fran Spielman
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
A City Council committee will consider an ordinance Monday that could let individual alderpersons decide whether to continue ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology in their wards.
By Fran Spielman
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
Former Inspector General Joseph Ferguson, now president of the Civic Federation, told the Sun-Times that details of the new deal indicate the City Council ‘probably should be vetting and approving this thing’ and not ‘just sort of play along with the mayor.’
Chicago police initially claimed officers were fired upon by a man, but the Civilian Office of Police Accountability released information Tuesday indicating the person involved was a child and did not shoot at police.
By Sophie Sherry
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Mayor Brandon’s Johnson’s administration negotiated an extension under less favorable terms than the original deal, which could violate city code, sources say. But the city’s Law Department says “a myriad of code provisions” permit the mayor’s extension.
Johnson announced last week that the city planned to shut down the gunshot detection system after the historically violent summer months and the Democratic National Convention, making good on a key campaign promise.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office worked out a renewal to the nearly $49 million contract with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, through Sept. 22.
The current $49 million contract with ShotSpotter expires Friday, meaning the gunshot detection system that covers 12 of the city’s 22 police districts could be shut down as early as the end of the day.
ShotSpotter is bad enough to give it the ax now, yet good enough to keep around for another six months? Only in Mayor Brandon Johnson’s City Hall does this make sense.
If Johnson was so determined to honor his campaign promise to get rid of the controversial gunshot detection system, why did he wait until the last minute to timidly announce the decision?
After the Sun-Times first reported the decision, Johnson said the city will drop the gunshot detection system Sept. 22, meaning cops will have access to it throughout the summer and the Democratic National Convention.
Ralph Clark, CEO of ShotSpotter’s parent company, defended the controversial gunshot detection technology, saying the company guarantees at least 90% efficacy.
With Mayor Johnson on the clock to decide whether to renew the ShotSpotter deal, an internal document obtained by the Sun-Times underscores previous criticism that the technology is ineffective and too costly.
Studies show the gunshot detection technology has no crime reduction benefit, a University of Chicago professor writes.
By Robert Vargas
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
A top mayoral aide said Johnson’s signature was unwittingly attached to a document authorizing the payment, which covered a contract extension approved by Lori Lightfoot.
The mayor will weigh all opinions on the controversial tech from a company whose contract ends next year, his adviser Jason Lee told the Sun-Times.
By Fran Spielman
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
ShotSpotter has rebranded itself as SoundThinking, but it’s still a false solution to Chicago’s real problem with gun violence, activists write. Millions spent on the technology should go to violent prevention efforts.
By Sharah Hutson
and
Alyx Goodwin
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
The rebrand comes months after the city extended the company’s contract for a second time. Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson has vowed to end the deal.
By Tom Schuba
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A ShotSpotter spokeswoman said the multimillion-dollar deal was extended in October, the same month Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson declared his candidacy.
By Tom Schuba
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In high-crime communities, citizens stop calling 911 for every shooting. ShotSpotter lets officers respond quickly and possibly stop active shooters, help victims and apprehend suspects faster than if they had to wait for 911 calls.
By Letters to the Editor
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ShotSpotter — sold to police as an accurate and technologically-advanced law enforcement tool — has proven time and again to be less-than-advertised.
A report by a widely used gunshot detection firm says human employees are given broad discretion to decide whether a sound is a gunshot, thunder or nothing.
By Garance Burke | Associated Press
and
Michael Tarm | Associated Press
[month] [day], [year], [hour]:[minute][ampm] [timezone]
ShotSpotter came under increased scrutiny after a police officer fatally shot 13-year-old Adam Toledo. In August 2021, the city’s Office of the Inspector General found the technology can change the way officers interact with areas they patrol.
By Jon Seidel
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