Ald. Marty Quinn (13th) said Mayor Brandon Johnson has no intention of carrying out the gunshot detection pilot program he recently announced.
Quinn said the pilot program is a way to delay restoring the technology ahead of a Nov. 3 non-binding ballot question asking “Should the City of Chicago restart the use of gunshot detection technology that informs first responders when gunshots are detected?”
“It’s not going to be executed,” Quinn said. “The only reason the mayor talked about a pilot program is because of the ballot question. I passed an ordinance and put that question on the ballot for Nov. 3.”
Quinn said the mayor could be embarrassed by the referendum question result. “He wants to try to save face while continuing to prolong the process,” Quinn said.
He said the mayor does not want to bring the technology back after his campaign promise to cancel its contract, which was canceled soon after the 2024 Chicago Democractic National Convention. He called the pilot program another example of the mayor thinking he knows better and ignoring Chicago taxpayers.
The 2025 request for proposal
Quinn also pointed to 2025 city bid documents for a gunshot detection system that remain active. A request for proposals lists a deadline for questions of Feb. 28, 2025, and a proposal deadline at 3 p.m. April 11, 2025. Asked whether the more than 200-page document was a declarative document, Quinn said, “Well, it’s not a serious document.”
The 2025 request says the city, through its Office of Public Safety, seeks a gun violence detection system that would alert officials to gunshots so city personnel can respond, help victims, catch suspects and preserve evidence. It says the system may include gunshot detection sensors, license plate readers and video cameras.
A related request for qualifications also carries 2025 dates. “Yeah, it’s just all intentional,” Quinn said.
The Mayor’s response
The SouthWest News-Herald asked the mayor’s press office for a response to the allegation there is not intention on his part to implement any such technology. Mayor Johnson issued the following written statement via his press office:
“As my administration continues to build a stronger, more comprehensive approach to community safety, we are hopeful about the investments I’ve authorized in proven strategies that are contributing to a decrease in violent crime. We’re going to keep building on that progress, using every tool at our disposal to drive crime down further and ensure every Chicagoan feels safe in their community.
“But we have a responsibility to make sure the investments we make and the technology we use actually make our communities safer, protect residents’ civil rights, and serve the public interest. In the coming weeks, we will begin piloting new public safety technologies, including gunshot detection technology.
“These pilots ensure that before we make long-term commitments, we understand what works, listen to the communities impacted, and make sure we’re getting results for Chicagoans, not simply enriching large corporations. Every Chicagoan deserves to feel safe when they leave for work, walk down their block, or spend time in their neighborhood, and we will continue this work to make our communities safer.”
The procurement process
The city’s chief procurement officer has authority to run pilot programs that test new technology before the city commits to long-term spending, according to the Mayor’s statement. Gunshot technology is under its purview to test for accuracy, reliability and effectiveness in real-world conditions.
When pilot evaluations end, the chief procurement officer will work with the city on next steps the statement said. Pilot vendors are not guaranteed a future contract.
The superintendent chose the 2nd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 10th and 11th police districts based on public safety needs, after discussing locations with the chief procurement officer with the Police Department and the Public Safety Administration continuing to work with the chief procurement officer to carry out the pilot, it said.
The statement said the Police Department identifies operational needs but does not pick vendors. Vendor selection and contract terms belong to the chief procurement officer, to keep the process independent and fair, according to the statement.
The pilot is separate and apart from the active RFP process and will be entered at no cost to the city, the press office statement noted.
Continued lack of transparency
Still, specific vendor names and operational details about the program remain undisclosed by the administration adding to aldermanic unease.
While the mayor announced the pilot program this month, Chief Procurement Office Starla Roberts failed to attend an Oct. 20 council hearing to answer aldermanic pilot program questions but sent a letter instead stating anticipation of pilot program start dates “within the next two weeks,” according to an Oct. 28 Chicago Tribune story by Jake Sheridan.
The Tribune story also indicated that on a break from the session, Interim Chief Fred Waller did not know much about program details saying “I wish I knew. I wish I knew more.”
During the combined Budget and Finance Committee meeting on Oct. 28, Quinn pressed police officials on why the 8th District was left out of the pilot.
“Why wasn’t the 8th District part of that?” a visibly angry Quinn said. “People are really aggravated for being left out. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Quinn was told the pilot districts were chosen because they had increases in violent crime over a certain period of time by Interim Police Superintendent Fred Waller.
“Nothing’s off the table and it’s a pilot, so if you feel that strongly about it, we can review the 8th District and see if it can be added,” Waller said.
Quinn told Waller he would have more confidence working with the Police Department than with the mayor’s office on adding the district.
Quinn has pushed for several years for a new police district on the Southwest Side. He said the 8th District serves more than 250,000 people and has the worst ratio of officers per 10,000 residents while ranking first in calls for service. He said its boundaries were last changed in 1968.
Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) also feels the pilot program announcement is a delaying tactic that will be forgotten after the election if Brandon is re-elected. She expressed frustration over the 8th District being left off the pilot program list.
“Nearly two years after ShotSpotter was removed, the city has announced a six-month pilot of gunshot detection that does not include the 23rd Ward and the 8th District, despite ongoing risks of delayed response when shots go unreported,” she said.
Ald. Pat Dowell, Chairman of the Committee on Finance, questioned Waller about police response times.
Dowell said median emergency response times range from 7.8 minutes in some districts to 18.8 minutes in others. Some calls on the busiest beats wait more than three hours, she said.
She cited a report that found the department would need 273 more patrol officers to reach 40% proactive time in every district. She said the department’s own community policing assessment found staffing shortages pull community policing officers onto patrol.
Dowell asked what a hiring freeze and 132 fewer officer positions would do to response times and community policing in districts that already have long waits.
Waller said no one had told him of a hiring freeze. He said hiring has expanded, with 12 months of academy recruits at 50 or more per class and more supervisors for the coming budget year.
First Deputy Superintendent Antoinette Ursitti said the department shares Dowell’s concerns and is reviewing each district and watch for bottlenecks.
Ursitti called the workforce allocation a multi-phased process. In the first phase, the department is moving non-sworn employees into roles that do not require an officer.
She said alternative responses and new technology, including drones as first responders, will affect how often an officer and a beat car must be sent to a call.
“That change, focusing there and getting members back into essential roles, is part of that process of relieving the pressure that patrol is feeling,” Ursitti said.