Chicago will pilot gunshot detection in six police districts. Alderpersons heard about it from a letter

The procurement chief skipped an Oct. 20 hearing on the stalled ShotSpotter replacement. The committee advanced an ordinance to force a decision; here is how the Council voted on ShotSpotter before.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 23, 2026

Chicago will test new gunshot detection technology in six South and West Side police districts, the City told alderpersons this week. They learned it from a letter read aloud at a hearing that the City's chief procurement officer declined to attend.

Why it matters: Chicago has been without a citywide gunshot detection system since the City ended its ShotSpotter contract, WGN has reported. Nine companies bid to replace it by April 2025, and there is still no contract, Ald. Samantha Nugent said at the hearing. The pilot would cover the Wentworth (2nd), Calumet (5th), Englewood (7th), Deering (9th), Ogden (10th) and Harrison (11th) police districts, WTTW reported. Together those districts take in all or part of neighborhoods such as Washington Park, Englewood, Roseland, Back of the Yards, Little Village, North Lawndale and Garfield Park.

What happened at the hearing

The Committee on Contracting Oversight and Equity, chaired by Ald. Emma Mitts (37th), met Oct. 20 on an ordinance directing the chief procurement officer to act on the gunshot detection procurement (O2026-0028837). Video and transcript are on the meeting page.

Mitts read the procurement officer's letter, which said she could not testify while the procurement is open and that the pilot would be "operational within the next two weeks" (watch at 21:38). Mitts said she first learned of the pilot in writing (33:56).

Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th) said nine companies bid "18 months ago, and there is still no contract," and cited the City's own data showing a 14-month median from bid opening to award for contracts over $1 million (23:53). She said the administration had given the Council three different timelines.

Ald. Felix Cardona Jr. (31st), the ordinance's sponsor, said he felt disrespected that procurement officials stayed away after two years of promised answers (26:52). Ald. Monique Scott (24th) called the absence "a disservice" to members who came from their wards (30:41). Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd), who is not on the committee, tied the issue to the budget, objecting to being told contract details are confidential while the Council votes on a multibillion-dollar budget (36:14).

The committee approved the ordinance by voice vote, which WTTW described as unanimous. WTTW reported the ordinance is meant to push the administration to award a contract within 30 days. ABC7 reported that several alderpersons were skeptical of the pilot's lack of details.

What our records add

The sponsors. O2026-0028837 was introduced Sept. 23 by Cardona, with Ald. Peter Chico (10th) and Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) as co-sponsors. It went from introduction to a committee vote in 27 days.

The Council has voted on this twice before, with the same split. In May 2024 the Council passed a resolution from Ald. David Moore (17th) calling on the Mayor to let each ward decide whether to keep ShotSpotter, 34 to 14. In September 2024 it passed an ordinance, also Moore's, directing the police superintendent to sign a new or extended contract for acoustic gunshot detection, 33 to 14.

How each ward voted

33 yea, 13 nay, 1 absent, 1 not voting · Sep 18, 2024 · Passed

Yea Nay Absent Not voting

O2024-0011032: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

The same 13 current members voted no both times: La Spata (1), Hall (6), Ramirez (12), Rodriguez (22), Sigcho-López (25), Fuentes (26), Ervin (28), Rodríguez Sánchez (33), Vasquez (40), Clay (46), Martin (47), Manaa-Hoppenworth (48) and Hadden (49). A former member also voted no both times.

What ShotSpotter cost. The old system cost about $9 million a year, WGN reported, which also reported a separate free six-month pilot from a private company in the Back of the Yards area, part of the Deering District.

What's next

The ordinance now goes to the full City Council. The next meetings on the Council's calendar are Dec. 8 and Dec. 9. A Law Department representative at the hearing agreed to take members' questions back and answer them through the chair, according to our meeting notes.