Overview
- The non‑binding referendum held Tuesday won about 72% support with roughly 447,475 of 617,413 votes cast in favor of restarting gunshot‑detection technology.
- Mayor Brandon Johnson ended the city’s ShotSpotter contract in 2024, saying the system was costly, produced mixed results and helped drive over‑policing in Black and Brown neighborhoods.
- City procurement officials have received nine formal bids to replace the technology, including SoundThinking, and recent city budgets have set aside roughly $13.9 million plus an additional $5 million for a new effort.
- The administration is preparing a limited pilot to test multiple approaches in six South and West Side police districts — Wentworth, Calumet, Englewood, Deering, Ogden and Harrison — but officials have not disclosed which vendors will be used, how the systems will operate, or a clear timeline.
- The referendum increases political pressure and could sharpen council demands, but the vote does not require reinstatement and key debates over effectiveness, privacy, equity and whether the pilot leads to wider deployment remain unresolved.