Chicago city council blasts Mayor Johnson canceling ShotSpotter: 'Campaign promise at the expense of lives'

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's comments Monday denouncing ShotSpotter as "walkie-talkies on a pole" are facing criticism from city council members who want to extend the gunshot detection system's contract, currently set to expire on Sunday.

Johnson, who campaigned in 2023 on ending the city’s contract with SoundThinking Inc., which owns ShotSpotter, said the program has not been successful in reducing overall gun violence and that the city "cannot afford the interest of corporations to play off the pain and the suffering of the people of Chicago."

"$100 million for walkie-talkies on a pole," Johnson said. "And the reason why they said we needed it was to reduce gun violence. It didn't do that."

The ShotSpotter technology has used a network of acoustic sensors to detect the location of gunfire and relay information to the police since 2012.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has been calling for shutting down the ShotSpotter technology since his campaign in 2023. (Screenshot/CNN)

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Though Johnson is dedicated to shutting down the system, members of the city council are just as determined to keep the system in place, planning to vote on a new ordinance Wednesday.

The ordinance will allow Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling to either extend the current deal set to expire Sunday or begin a new contract for a system with the same technology.

Alderman Anthony Beale of Chicago’s 9th Ward argued on behalf of keeping ShotSpotter and criticized Johnson for dismissing the system. 

"I’m sorry that he feels saving lives is compared to walkie-talkies on a stick," Beale told the Chicago Sun Times.

He added, "[Johnson] doesn’t understand what this tool is. It’s a campaign issue and he doesn’t understand it. He’s trying keep a campaign promise at the expense of lives."

Alderman Anthony Beale has frequently criticized Mayor Johnson for denouncing ShotSpotter technology. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Beale also told the Sun Times that if the vote on Wednesday should fail, he plans to call for a special council meeting to propose a new ordinance and authorize a new city official to negotiate a deal.

A 2021 report by the Chicago Inspector General showed only 9% of gunshot alerts were ever linked to gun-related crimes and also questioned the quality of officers' responses to ShotSpotter alerts.

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However, the technology has been praised by the Chicago Police Department and other law enforcement agencies for identifying shootings and saving lives by speeding up emergency response times. Officials claimed it's much faster than if they waited for someone to call 911 to report gunfire. 

Johnson first announced his decision not to renew the ShotSpotter contract in February, though he confirmed the contract would be extended until Sept. 22. At the time, Beale criticized Johnson for waiting until after the Democratic National Convention to pull the plug on the system.

Johnson previously extended the city's contract with SoundThinking Inc. until after the DNC. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)

"If ShotSpotter is so bad, cancel it now," Beale told WMAQ-TV at the time. "Why do you want to wait until a month after the DNC? So you want to protect the people that are coming in for the DNC and then cancel it a month after? It’s good enough for them; why is it not good enough for the rest of the people here in the city of Chicago?"

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Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office and Beale for further comment.

Fox News' Stepheny Price contributed to this report.