Chicago voters back ShotSpotter, but Mayor Johnson is unlikely to act

The Divide Between City Hall and the Ballot Box

Chicago voters have delivered a lopsided mandate on public safety, with over 72% of those who cast ballots in Tuesday’s advisory referendum signaling they want gunshot detection technology returned to the city’s streets. The result, involving 447,475 of the 617,413 votes cast, highlights a profound disconnect between the electorate and Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, which moved to dismantle the city’s contract with ShotSpotter three years ago.

While the referendum is nonbinding and carries no legal requirement for the city to act, it serves as a blunt political instrument. For the residents who turned out, the vote was a clear expression of a desire for tools that might shorten police response times. Yet, as the Chicago Sun-Times reported, the administration remains unmoved by the tally, with Mayor Johnson signaling that the results will not alter his long-standing opposition to the specific technology he famously dismissed as a “walkie-talkie on a stick.”

City Fails to Deploy Replacement System Despite Allocated Funds

The political friction centers on the city’s inability to deploy a replacement system despite years of rhetoric and financial planning. Since the cancellation of the ShotSpotter contract, the city has set aside significant funds for new technology—$13.9 million across the previous two budgets, with an additional $5 million included in the mayor’s current reelection budget. Despite these allocations, the transition from the old system to a new, “credible” solution has stalled.

A ShotSpotter unit at the South Laramie Avenue and West Harrison Street in Austin, Thursday, September 19, 2024 — Photo: chicago.suntimes.com

Mayor Johnson has instead initiated an opaque pilot program across six police districts: Wentworth, Calumet, Englewood, Deering, Ogden, and Harrison. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, this program is intended to test a broader suite of tools, including drone-based situational awareness, license plate recognition, and incident response systems for evidence preservation.

The mayor is choosing politics over the taxpayers’ wants and needs. I don’t think the mayor’s pilot program… is anything but a tactic to delay. — Ald. Marty Quinn

Technology Improves Police Response Times in Gunshot Areas

Proponents of the technology, including former police leadership, have long argued that the system provides an essential layer of awareness in areas where gunshots may go unreported by residents. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago found that police beats previously utilizing ShotSpotter saw an average improvement of 4.2 minutes in response times, a metric that can be critical when treating gunshot victims, as noted by CBS News.

Conversely, the administration’s position rests on concerns regarding privacy and the potential for overpolicing in Black and Brown communities. Mayor Johnson has maintained that any new technology must be both effective and protective of civil liberties, characterizing his current approach as more transparent than the previous regime. He defended his record by pointing to what he describes as “historic reductions in violence” over the past three years, framing the referendum as an unnecessary pressure point on a process he claims is already underway.

A Looming Political Backlash

Several aldermen have criticized the mayor regarding the city’s approach to gunshot detection technology. Brendan Reilly, have suggested that the mayor’s continued resistance to the voters’ clear preference will carry consequences at the ballot box in the upcoming February election. The argument is that the mayor cannot simultaneously claim a mandate for his policies while ignoring a 72% consensus on a specific, high-priority public safety issue.

The path forward remains murky. The City Council’s procurement process has been characterized by confusion, highlighted by the recent absence of Chief Procurement Officer Sharla Roberts from a hearing intended to clarify the status of the pilot program. As the administration attempts to run out the clock toward reelection, the divide between the Mayor’s Office and a frustrated City Council appears to be widening, leaving the city’s residents in a state of uncertainty regarding if, or when, a new detection system will actually be deployed.