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Johnson Won’t Veto City Council’s Rebuke of His Decision to Scrap ShotSpotter


Video: Chicago Public Schools and ShotSpotter were big topics at City Hall on Wednesday. WTTW News senior reporter Heather Cherone is live with the latest. (Produced by Shelby Hawkins)


Mayor Brandon Johnson said Wednesday he will not veto a measure approved by the Chicago City Council that rebuked his decision to scrap the city’s gunshot detection system, ShotSpotter, which was turned off more than two weeks ago.

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Johnson initially said he would veto the measure, which he called illegal. Johnson acknowledged Wednesday he changed course, concerned it would set a “dangerous precedent” by stripping the mayor’s office of its authority to enter into contracts for the city through the normal procurement process.

“The procurement rests in the executive branch. To take that outside the executive branch is a dangerous precedent,” Johnson said. “Could you imagine if each entity had the ability, regardless of the executive authority, to just go into procurement with any entity? I mean, you could have a second term with Donald Trump and God knows we don’t want that.”

With 33 alderpeople voting for the measure, Johnson was at risk of having his veto overridden and suffering another defeat. 

Johnson’s decision not to issue the first mayoral veto since 2006 prompted several alderpeople to call off another attempt to bypass the mayor’s office and directly ink a contract with SoundThinking, the firm that operates the system.

Supporters of ShotSpotter and critics of the mayor have vowed to sue Johnson and the city to force them to follow the ordinance.

Johnson has been steadfast in his opposition to ShotSpotter, which he said leads to the overpolicing of neighborhoods home to a majority of Black and Latino Chicagoans. 

Johnson has been under fire for months on this issue. Some progressive Chicagoans want to see the system scrapped, while some Black Chicagoans are pressing city officials do everything possible to reduce persistent levels of violence.

Johnson has repeatedly said there is “clear evidence (ShotSpotter) is unreliable and overly susceptible to human error.” He blamed the system for the death of 13-year-old Adam Toledo, who was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer responding to an alert from the system in March 2021.

Johnson accused SoundThinking of exploiting Chicagoans’ fears of gun violence in an attempt to increase its revenue.

Supporters of ShotSpotter say it is an important tool, and tout its ability to speed police to victims of gun violence in cases where there is no corresponding 911 call. The system is not used to dispatch paramedics.

The ordinance Johnson declined to veto is designed to give Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling the power to bypass the mayor’s office and directly ink a contract with SoundThinking, the firm that operates the system. Snelling has said he supports the use of the system, but is unlikely to sign a contract over the objections of the mayor, who appointed him and has the power to fire him.

The mayor has said repeatedly that the system did not live up to promises that it would reduce gun violence and called it no more than a “walkie talkie on a pole.”

Johnson also ignored an order passed by the City Council in May that would have required vote before ShotSpotter is removed from any Chicago ward.

The ordinance approved by the City Council sought to circumvent the city’s normal procurement and contracting process, which is designed to prevent fraud, waste and abuse. That is illegal, said Johnson and Corporation Counsel Mary Richardson Lowry.

The City Council has the power to earmark money in the city budget for a particular purpose — such as a gunshot detection system — and to direct city staff to solicit bids to perform that work.

City and state laws require Chicago officials to award contracts to the lowest bidder who can perform the work requested by the city at the standards set by officials after that process, which typically takes months.

The superintendent of police and other department heads do not have the power to enter into contracts that do not follow those procedures and that bypass the city’s procurement department under the city’s normal rules.

Shortly before ShotSpotter was turned off, Johnson encouraged firms to submit proposals to use technology to “ensure quick response by law enforcement authorities in emergency situations.”

SoundThinking, the firm that operates ShotSpotter, is the only firm that operates a system designed to use acoustic sensors to detect gunshots. The firm said it would respond to the city’s request for information.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]


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