CHICAGO — Several Chicago council members, as well as community leaders, are trying to temporarily bring back ShotSpotter.
City alderman, business leaders and anti-violence activists gathered Tuesday to call on Mayor Brandon Johnson to reactivate the gunshot detection system until a more permanent solution is reached.
They are offering $2.5 million to help cover part of the interim costs for 15 months, funded entirely by Chicago’s business community.
The same day ShotSpotter went offline in Chicago is the same day the mayor’s office issued a request for information.
This, despite a promise by Johnson going back to his campaign days, that he would get rid of it.
The RFI asked for companies to pitch their technologies that could be implemented across the entire city.
The group on Tuesday argued residents and officers can’t wait for that process to finish.
They say the $2.5 million from businesses will help the city pay some of the costs to extend ShotSpotter for a total of $9.6 million through Dec. 2025.
An ordinance has already passed which would give CPD Supt. Larry Snelling the power to ink a contract directly with ShotSpotter’s parent company. But the mayor vowed to veto it, calling it illegal.
Father Michael Pfleger with St. Sabina Church says he feels the only person who should be in charge of whether a technology stays or goes, is Snelling.
“Until we build a relationship back between community and law enforcement, where people feel free giving information, we need every technology we can to help know where shots are being fired, and where bodies may be laying on the ground in need of emergency care,” Pfleger said.
“As it was stated, every second counts. But we need a system now to respond to devastations that happen in the city of Chicago,” said Ald. Stephanie Coleman, Chair of Chicago Aldermanic Black Caucus.
City officials weigh in on loss of ShotSpotter after 19-year-old’s murder Since the decommission of ShotSpotter, city councilors say at least three people, including 19-year-old Sierra Evans , have been found dead after a shooting in an area once serviced by ShotSpotter.
While the technology isn’t alerting the city, some sensors are still up and the company confirms they did pick up gunfire in all three cases.
It’s believed Evans may have been shot more than nine hours before a resident found her body in an alleyway.
WGN News has reached out to the mayor’s office for comment on the $2.5 million offer, but have not yet heard back.
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