Supporters push to extreme lengths to save ShotSpotter in Chicago, opponents say change is needed

CHICAGO (WLS) — Petitions signed by voters and a new ordinance introduced by a city council member are both trying to find ways to convince Mayor Brandon Johnson or perhaps circumvent his decision to remove the ShotSpotter technology.

About 2,000 ShotSpotter transmitters are about to go silent in Chicago.

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Before the gunshot detection technology goes off, as it is scheduled to do, on September 23rd, a parliamentary battle is taking place inside city hall and Chicago communities.

“Fourteen hundred signatures from residents who want to keep ShotSpotter in Chicago,” said 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares.

READ MORE: The CEO sits down with ABC7 as the clock ticks down on the ShotSpotter contract

Jason Huff and his newly elected colleagues on the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability spent months collecting those signatures, talking to thousands of Southwest Side residents about ShotSpotter.

“A lot of people are concerned. They want to see it preserved. They think it’s a vital tool, especially when there are no calls here in the district,” he said.

Newly released data from the Chicago Police Department shows that since January 2024, police have responded 2 1/2 minutes faster to shootings alerted by ShotSpotter alone. This takes about 12 minutes.

Data shows that it takes about 14 1/2 minutes for officers to arrive when they respond to a 911 call without a ShotSpotter alert.

But Ward 6 Councilman Will Hall said that’s not enough.

“For technology to tell you, but not lead to prosecution, as well as guns on the street, it’s ineffective,” he said. “What’s the strategy? Tell us when people are shooting? Or stop people from getting guns and put people behind bars?”

In May, the city council voted overwhelmingly in favor of a mandatory ShotSpotter retention order.

“There’s an ordinance that was passed that says the mayor can’t take money from ShotSpotter without coming before the city council. And I hope he is willing to follow that order,” said 17th Ward Ald. David Moore

Now, Moore has introduced another backup plan: an ordinance that could give Chicago’s corporation board and police superintendent the authority to extend the city’s contract with ShotSpotter for another two years for public safety reasons.

“We’re not knocking you down and saying you can’t replace it with anything, but you don’t take a tool that we need right now to keep our communities safe and you don’t have anything to replace it with,” he said.

“We need to let the superintendent do his job with the mayor, looking at the newest technology,” said 8th Ward Ald. Will Hall.

That back-and-forth will play out in person when the city council meets in what could be ShotSpotter’s final days in Chicago.

ABC7 reached out to the mayor’s office for comment, but did not hear back.