A last-ditch effort to keep ShotSpotter
Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
The city's contract with gunshot detection system ShotSpotter is set to expire on Sept. 22, amid long-running disagreements over its accuracy and utility.
In today's newsletter, we're looking into one alderperson's last-ditch effort to extend the ShotSpotter deal.
Plus, we've got reporting on the hiring freeze at City Hall, a fact check of last night's presidential debate and more community news you need to know below. ????
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Last-ditch effort seeks to allow Chicago’s top cop to extend ShotSpotter deal
Reporting by Fran Spielman and Tom Schuba
Parting shot?: A South Side alderperson is trying to force a vote on a measure that would require Chicago’s top cop to renew the city’s contract with ShotSpotter. The effort comes just weeks before the controversial gunshot detection system is expected to be taken offline.
The plan: Seventh Ward Ald. David Moore introduced an ordinance in mid-July to give Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling the power to extend the existing deal with ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, or enter into a new contract for similar technology. The ordinance has languished in the rules committee, where legislation often goes to die, but Moore insists the City Council has the power to undercut Johnson’s contracting authority, saying that department heads “have a right” to make their own deals.
Key context: The ordinance marks the City Council’s latest effort to keep the ShotSpotter system intact after Mayor Brandon Johnson made good on a campaign promise to cut the cord. ShotSpotter is expected to be shut down on Sept. 22, and the system will be decommissioned by Nov. 22.
Strength in numbers: Moore claimed he has the votes to resurrect and pass the ordinance. To do so, two-thirds of the 50-member City Council — or 34 members — must first suspend the rules for immediate consideration of an ordinance that has not been approved by committee. Then 26 alderpersons must vote in favor of the ordinance to pass it.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- Hiring freeze reroute: After pushback from first responders and their City Council champions, Mayor Johnson said Wednesday his hiring freeze to address the city's budget crisis will not impact police and fire departments.
- U.S. commemorates 9/11 attacks: Many today are honoring the nearly 3,000 people killed in the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. President Joe Biden, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris stood together Wednesday morning at Ground Zero in Manhattan. In Chicago, Mayor Johnson and other city officials joined firefighters at Engine 42 downtown for a ceremony.
- Debate fact-checks: Sun-Times reporters checked several key statements made by Harris and Trump during Tuesday night's presidential debate in Philadelphia, including arguments on taxes, inflation, abortion and immigration.
- What voters say: This morning, WBEZ took calls from listeners across the Chicago area to hear opinions on the debate.
- Pullman industrial park grows: A groundbreaking was held Tuesday for the third phase of Pullman Crossings, a 50-plus acre industrial park at 103rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue.
- 3.5 stars for ‘How to Die Alone’: Natasha Rothwell plays a likable but deeply flawed driver of a luggage cart at JFK airport in one of the year's funniest new shows, writes Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper.
COUNTY IN COLOR ????
While painting Berwyn mural, artist thought about opportunities he didn’t have as a kid
Genevieve Bookwalter | For the Sun-Times
As Chicago artist Isaac Galvan painted a giant mural on a wall of Berwyn’s Youth Crossroads building, he says he was thinking about growing up.
"When I was a kid, I was a graffiti writer," he says. "That was my after-school activity."
Galvan grew up partly in Berwyn, and the man who connected him with Youth Crossroads for the organization’s newest mural was a longtime friend of his mother. He says he didn’t have the opportunities that places like Youth Crossroads offer kids, like tutoring, leadership and job training.
For the organization’s 50th anniversary, Galvan painted the mural, which is 90 feet wide and 15 feet tall and covers an entire wall. He says it portrays the success he hopes Youth Crossroads will help students find.
Titled "Youthful Expressions," the mutual represents Youth Crossroads' three core pillars of service: guide, support and inspire, Galvan says.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Chicago designers to kick off Chicago Fashion Week in October
Reporting by Amy Yee
Organizers of Chicago Fashion Week announced the eight designers who will be featured on the opening runway at the Chicago Cultural Center.
The fashion show — which kicks off the Oct. 9-20 Chicago Fashion Week — is called "A Celebration of Chicago Style" and will spotlight the city’s designers, many of whom are female founders of color, who create everything from streetwear to evening wear.
Here are four local designers for the opening runway show.
Barbara Bates: Born in Chicago, self-taught fashion designer Barbara Bates is known for designs with exotic fabrics and leather trim. She has outfitted celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Whitney Houston and Mike Tyson.
Chelsea Billingsley: Chelsea Billingsley, founder of House of Chelsea B, blends streetwear design and fiber arts such as crochet. The Englewood native is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design.
Alex McDermott: McDermott launched I Am Studios after graduating from the School of the Art Institute in 2022. Specializing in couture, she is inspired by her "experience with a disabled body," and her designs draw on armor, science fiction, the natural world and classic tailoring.
Sheila Rashid: Chicago designer Sheila Rashid’s unisex clothing line has been worn by Chance the Rapper, Lena Waithe, Zendaya and Bella Hadid. Her made-to-order pieces, like denim overalls and puffer jackets, combine both "tomboy and feminine qualities," according to her website.
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Did Tuesday night’s presidential debate change your mind about either candidate? Tell us why or why not.
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Written by: Matt Moore
Editor: Esther Bergdahl
Copy editor: Angie Myers