A South Side alderperson is trying to force a vote on a measure that would require Chicago’s top cop to renew the city’s contract with ShotSpotter just weeks before the controversial gunshot detection system is expected to be taken offline.
Ald. David Moore (17th) introduced the ordinance in mid-July, pushing to give Police Supt. Larry Snelling the power to extend the existing deal with ShotSpotter’s parent company SoundThinking or enter into a new contract for similar technology.
Moore told the Sun-Times he plans to use a parliamentary maneuver next week to force a vote on the ordinance, which has languished in the Rules Committee where legislation often goes to die.
It marks City Council’s latest effort to keep the ShotSpotter system intact after Mayor Brandon Johnson made good on a campaign promise to cut the cord. ShotSpotter is expected to be shut down on Sept. 22, and the system will be decommissioned by Nov. 22.
But Moore insisted the council has the power to undercut Johnson’s contracting authority, noting that department heads “have a right” to make their own deals. He claimed he has the votes to resurrect and pass the ordinance.
To do so, two-thirds of the 50-member City Council — or 34 members — must first suspend the rules for immediate consideration of an ordinance that has not been approved by committee. Then, 26 alderpersons must vote in favor of the ordinance to pass it.
“It gives the ability for CPD to enter into a contract with ShotSpotter,” Moore said. “The mayor does not have to procure it.”
Moore noted that a two-thirds majority previously voted to approve an order he introduced requiring the council to be notified in advance of any decision to “remove any violence prevention funding,” including for ShotSpotter.
The order sought to block Johnson from pulling the technology from any ward without a meeting of the Public Safety Committee and approval by the full council.
Johnson considered that order so nebulous that he didn’t even bother to veto it, although he made it clear to reporters that it had “no bearing” on his authority as the city’s chief executive.
On Wednesday, Moore hinted at a possible court fight pitting the mayor against the City Council majority determined to keep ShotSpotter.
“There’s an order out there that the administration is not adhering to,” Moore said. “The order says you cannot end the contract or take funding away from [a ward] from a public safety standpoint until you come before the City Council.
“Now he can choose to ignore that order. But that order passed,” Moore said.
Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), the former Chicago Police sergeant who chairs the City Council’s Police and Fire Committee, is among the alderpersons who voted in May to tie Johnson’s hands on ShotSpotter.
Taliaferro said he shares Moore’s desire to keep the technology but he’s also a realist. He does not believe the City Council has the power to “compel” Snelling to renew the ShotSpotter contract.
“When it comes down to contracting, I believe only the mayor can sign contracts on behalf of the city of Chicago,” Taliaferro said. “I don’t know the authority that Supt. Snelling would have in signing a multi-million dollar contract which would obligate the city.”
Taliaferro said he remains “hopeful” that Johnson will change his mind about gunshot detection technology.
“We haven’t reached that [Sept. 22] deadline yet … so things can change,” Taliaferro said. “When the Egyptians believed there was no hope, Moses parted the sea and crossed. At the last minute, things can change. Even the Bears can win their first game.”
Johnson’s office didn’t respond to questions. But he has stood by his decision to shut down ShotSpotter, which is currently operational in 12 of the city’s 22 police districts.
So far, the city has spent more than $53 million since 2018 to use the technology. Meanwhile, a mountain of research has called into question its efficacy and reliability.
Johnson announced in February that he was ending the city’s relationship with ShotSpotter, setting off a frantic push to secure a costly contract extension that allowed the city to keep the technology over the historically violent summer months and during the Democratic National Convention.
Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), one of Johnson’s key allies, said the mayor “had a very clear policy to discontinue a software that was highly criticized by academics, the inspector general and by community members who have seen the consequences.”
Sigcho-Lopez noted that his colleagues appear to be overreaching in their effort to push Supt. Snelling to extend the ShotSpotter deal or enter into a new contract for gunshot-detection technology.
“We have a mayor that was elected to make those decisions,” he said.