Chicago Voters Back Gunshot Detection Technology

Chicago voters backed a return to gunshot detection technology in an advisory referendum on November 3. The measure received 447,475 votes, or 72% of the 617,413 votes cast. The result is nonbinding and does not require the city to restart the technology or select a replacement.

Chicago’s Nonbinding Vote Leaves Johnson’s ShotSpotter Decision Unchanged

Chicago voters have made their preference clear: 447,475 people, or 72% of those voting on the advisory question, favored bringing back gunshot detection technology. But the referendum is nonbinding, leaving Mayor Brandon Johnson free to continue without a replacement contract after canceling ShotSpotter three years ago.

The mayor and his supporters have argued the technology was costly, ineffective and helped fuel excessive police scrutiny in Black and Brown communities. Yet the city’s last two budgets set aside a combined $13.9 million for replacement technology, and Johnson’s re-election budget also contains an additional $5 million. So far, the city has not announced a replacement.

Instead, officials have described a pilot in six police districts that could test several approaches, including violence intervention, drones and license-plate recognition. Gunshot detection is only one part of it, officials said. Critics on the City Council say the pilot is opaque and risks delaying a response to what voters have plainly requested. The vote does not force the mayor’s hand, but it gives opponents a public mandate to challenge his approach.

Chicago Voters Demand Gunshot Detection as Johnson Stalls

Nearly three out of four Chicago voters backed restoring gunshot detection technology, a decisive signal that public safety matters more than Mayor Brandon Johnson’s resistance to ShotSpotter. The advisory measure won 447,475 votes out of 617,413, even though it cannot compel the mayor to act.

Johnson canceled the city’s ShotSpotter contract three years ago, despite concerns that the technology could help alert first responders to gunfire and speed emergency response. His administration has since launched a search for replacement technology, but no contract has followed. The city set aside $13.9 million across its last two budgets for a replacement, with another $5 million in Johnson’s re-election budget.

The administration’s proposed pilot in six police districts covers a range of ideas, and officials say gunshot detection is only one component. Council members have called the pilot a mystery and accused the mayor of using delay instead of following voters’ clear guidance. The referendum has no force of law, but its result makes it harder for Johnson to portray his position as the one Chicagoans want.