DePaulia
The
Volume #109 | Issue #2 | Sept. 30, 2024 | depauliaonline.com
SHOT
DOWN
Vetoing city council vote, Mayor Brandon Johnson abandons ShotSpotter By LiLi Jarvenpa City News Editor
Chicago ended its multi-year contract with ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology provider, on Monday, Sept. 23, pulling the plug on the service after midnight on Sept. 22. The Chicago City Council voted 33-14 on Sept. 18 to keep ShotSpotter in the city in an attempt to overturn Mayor Brandon Johnson’s plan to remove the technology in Chicago. In a statement from SoundThinking, ShotSpotter’s parent company, the company said they were pleased with the City Council’s support of the technology in Chicago; however, Johnson vetoed the City Council’s decision, saying he wanted to explore other options. “We are gratified by the support of the
YU YU BLUE | THE DEPAULIA
PAGE 5 PLASTIC BOTTLES OUT, HYGIENE CONCERNS BUBBLE UP LINA GEBHARDT | THE DEPAULIA
A worker holds up a personal hygiene kit, which contains of pre-packaged single-use items, on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, at the Lincoln Park Community Services shelter. Illinois will soon ban single-use plastic bottles from being distributed inside hotel rooms, in an attempt to curb plastic waste.
many alderpeople and civic leaders across the City who recognize the undeniable fact that ShotSpotter saves lives,” SoundThinking said in the statement. ShotSpotter is a technology that uses artificial intelligence and a network of around 2,500 microphone sensors to identify gunshots around the city. It then sends the data to the police. From the beginning of 2024 to the end of August, 29,829 ShotSpotter alerts were recorded. Shotspotter is in operation in over 150 U.S. cities, and Chicago has spent around $49 million on its contract with ShotSpotter. Willa Mankin, a new Chicago resident, said she worried about safety before she moved from Champaign, Illinois, to Chicago in August. She said that even if police do not act on each gunshot notification, she is glad
SHOT SPOTTER, continued on page 4
PAGE 15 AFTER KNUDSEN OK, NEW BASKETBALL PRACTICE FACILITY ONE STEP CLOSER FILE PHOTO | THE DEPAULIA
FILE - Timmy Knudsen, 43rd Ward Alderman, talks during a press conference in April 2023. Knudsen formally approved DePaul's proposed basketball practice facility on Friday, Sept. 27, in an email to constituents.