Chicago alderpeople vote to keep ShotSpotter technology, Mayor Johnson plans to veto
CHICAGO (CBS) — A group of aldermen voted 33-14 on an ordinance seeking to overturn Mayor Brandon Johnson's plan to eliminate the ShotSpotter gun detection program in Chicago.
But this does not mean the technology will remain in use in Chicago. Mayor Johnson says he plans to veto the ordinance.
The legislation the alderpeople passed is being called a Hail Mary ordinance. It aims to override the mayor's decision to drop ShotSpotter, and instead to compel police Supt. Larry Snelling to renew the contract instead.
Johnson said his plan to veto the ordinance has "nothing to do with ShotSpotter," but is rather because the ordinance itself is illegal.
"The mayor referenced the veto because the thing that passed is in violation of the Separation of Powers Act," said Chicago Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson-Lowry. "The legislative branch cannot compel the executive branch to act."
Mayor Johnson has also previously said he, not the City Council, has the power to cancel the contract.
Such opposition is rare. CBS News Chicago could not find a veto under mayors Lori Lightfoot or Rahm Emanuel—the last one was during Mayor Richard M. Daley's administration.
"Technically, we do have a strong council, weak mayor system," said Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd). "This is rather unprecedented."
ShotSpotter is set to be turned off this coming Sunday. Mayor Johnson aims to eliminate the controversial gunshot detection program, saying it's too expensive at a price of $100 million—and doesn't actually help fight crime.
"We don't know what's going to happen next. There's a lot of questions about that. I think the mayor has to talk to his top advisers. You know, we as a City Council majority are going to have that conversation about what the next step is," Hopkins said before the mayor spoke late Wednesday. "We resolved this the way we do in a democracy—majority rules. That's how a democracy resolves its differences. We did that today."
At a news conference after the City Council meeting Wednesday, Mayor Johnson said he was committed to other measures that would advance public safety.
"We're going to find a pathway forward. We're going to find a technology that actually works. And we're going to keep this in mind—we're going to invest in people," Mayor Johnson said, "because the fact that those devices are in those communities, it's an admittance that those communities don't have everything that they need."
The mayor called for focusing on measures that he said "actually work," such as hiring more police detectives and sending behavioral health care workers to some 911 calls.
"We're committed to technology, but it has to be technology that works. Look, cities all over America are canceling technology. Houston—this is a red state; this is not just blue states, you know, more moderate to conservative leaders—San Antonio, Seattle, New Orleans—they're canceling it because it has proven to be ineffective. When this was brought before the people of Chicago, this is what they were told—that it would reduce violence and it would lead to more arrests. It's done neither."
Mayor John Whitmire of Houston has said he wants to cancel that city's ShotSpotter technology and has called it a "gimmick," CBS affiliate KHOU 11 reported. The San Antonio Police Department ended its contract with ShotSpotter after a little more than a year in 2017, saying the technology only led to four arrests. Published reports note that Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell called off plans to install ShotSpotter sensors there this past June. New Orleans discontinued its use of ShotSpotter in 2013, though as CBS affiliate WWL-TV reported, there was talk of redeploying it there last year.
ShotSpotter first arrived in Chicago in 2017.
"Because ShotSpotter is so accurate and real-time, the officers can actually arrive to the scene somewhere between 5 and 7 minutes before a 9-1-1 call," then-Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said in April of that year. "That gives us more opportunity to arrest the offender and actually intervene in some things."
The aldermen pushing to renew the service insist they should be allowed to call the shots in their ward as they see fit.
Before taking the vote Wednesday, aldermen revealed that SoundThinking—ShotSpotter's parent company—recently presented the city with a significant discount, slashing the price tag by 48%. This was part of a 15-month agreement that would cover the city through 2025.
But the steep discount has not proved to be enough to sway Mayor Johnson.
Last Monday, the city released data on ShotSpotter's effectiveness, which seemed to show evidence of crimes connected to ShotSpotter alerts.
Shell casings were recovered in the majority of police responses to those alerts, and 470 weapons were also recovered.
Response times from those alerts, on average, were about three times faster than 911 calls alone. However, of the 143 victims who got help because of an alert from ShotSpotter, only seven got that help without an additional call to 911.
Still, some alderpeople believe the technology is life-saving, but Mayor Johnson has dismissed it as a "walkie-talkie on a pole."
Ald. Anthony Beale (9th) brought a group of ShotSpotter supporters with him.
"When you look at the people that are behind me, we represent one end of the city to the other, and we are all in support of ShotSpotter," said Beale.
Ald. David Moore (17th) noted that police Supt. Snelling supports ShotSpotter.
"We as aldermen have a responsibility to listen to our residents," he said. We also have the responsibility of listening to the person responsible for keeping our residents safe, and that's Superintendent Larry Snelling."
"If one life is saved with gunshot detection technology, then it is absolutely worth having," added Ald. Ray Lopez (15th).
Of the slashed price for the technology, Lopez said, "How can the mayor ignore this cost savings that will also save lives?"
Many aldermen said the issue is ultimately about protecting constituents.
"Many times, I go to the scenes where the people were shot, and I talk to the families," said Ald. Peter Chico (10th), "and those families, they're very happy that ShotSpotter was in place, because they don't know what would have happened if we waited another one minute, two minutes, three minutes."
"I want to protect my residents. I want to protect everybody in this city," said Ald. Monique Scott (24th), "and maybe there is options we can look at—but we don't just snatch it."
Scott said she understood Mayor Johnson had made a campaign promise to drop ShotSpotter, but she said, "You can't put a life over a campaign promise."
However, some aldermen oppose ShotSpotter every bit as much as the mayor, with some also questioning the parent company's discount deal.
"I think it's a shoddy business, and they said they were going to help with gun violence, and they haven't done it," said Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th). "If they wanted to keep us, why not offer us that deal in the beginning? It's because they wanted to keep the money coming."
The City Council could still try to override the mayor's veto, with a three-fifths majority.
Aldermen who support ShotSpotter said they are discussing their options.
"We're' the ones that set the budget. We're the ones that ultimately set policy like this," said Hopkins. "That's clear within our scope of duties and the mayor needs to acknowledge that."
If the contract with ShotSpotter is allowed to expire by Sunday, the company behind the technology will take the sensors down.