By Townhall Chicago News Staff
A Chicago City Council committee voted unanimously Tuesday to require the Johnson administration to award a gunshot detection system contract within 30 days.
The vote clears the way for the city to begin testing a new gunshot detection system in six South and West Side police districts within two weeks, pending the contract award.
Aldermen said during the hearing that the administration had not disclosed where the contract process had stalled or who was responsible for the delay. “So the question is where this contract is sitting and who is holding it up,” one alderman said. The alderman was not named in the broadcast.
The alderman also criticized administration officials for their response to the committee’s questions. “It is shameful that this administration will not show up to answer questions in front of a committee of representatives also elected by the people,” the alderman said.
The ordinance passed the committee by a unanimous vote. It was not clear from the broadcast whether the full City Council had also taken up or approved the measure.
The push for a new gunshot detection system comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the city’s public safety technology contracts. The broadcast did not name the vendor selected for the new system or specify whether it would replace an existing detection program.
The six districts where testing is planned are on the South and West sides, areas city officials have identified as priorities for the technology. No timeline beyond the 30-day contract deadline was given for when testing would begin or how long it would run.
The vote adds another point of friction between the council and the Johnson administration, which is separately seeking council approval for a $17.6 billion budget that includes a revived tax on large employers.
Gunshot detection technology has been a point of contention in Chicago in recent years, with past systems facing scrutiny over cost and effectiveness. The broadcast did not specify whether Tuesday’s ordinance was related to any prior detection program used by the city.
Aldermen on the committee indicated they expected the administration to comply with the 30-day deadline once the ordinance takes effect. The broadcast did not include comment from the mayor’s office responding to the criticism raised during the hearing.
The broadcast segment aired as part of the station’s local news coverage, which also covered the mayor’s budget address the same day. Taken together, aldermen’s public criticism of both the gunshot detection delay and the proposed business tax pointed to broader tension between the council and the administration heading into budget negotiations.
