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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Matt Moore

Chicago’s ShotSpotter deal, funeral service details for two city firefighters and more in your news roundup

ShotSpotter equipment overlooks the intersection of South Stony Island Avenue and East 63rd Street in Chicago on Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021. (Charles Rex Arbogast/AP file)

Good afternoon. Here’s the latest news you need to know in Chicago. It’s about an eight-minute read that will brief you on today’s biggest stories.

— Matt Moore (@MattKenMoore)

Weather 🌤️

This afternoon will be partly sunny with a high near 71 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear with a low near 52. Tomorrow will be mostly sunny with a high near 77.


Top story

Lightfoot administration quietly re-upped ShotSpotter contract Johnson has vowed to cancel

While Brandon Johnson was vowing on the campaign trail to end the city’s contract with ShotSpotter, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration had already quietly extended the city’s multi-million-dollar contract to use the controversial gunshot detection software.

The city’s initial three-year, $33 million contract with California-based ShotSpotter started in August 2018 and was extended for two additional years in December 2020 without public notice and long before the initial deal was slated to end.

Records show the contract was set to expire on Aug. 19, but a ShotSpotter spokesperson said it was extended in October and will remain in effect until at least Feb. 16.

A City Hall source said there has been “extensive conversations” about soliciting bids for software that detects gunfire because the market for such technology has expanded. Lightfoot, who lost her re-election bid in February, has called ShotSpotter “a lifesaver” when paired with surveillance cameras and city technology centers.

The technology, which pairs an artificial intelligence algorithm with a system of microphones, aims to quickly alert police to the sound of gunfire. Gunshot sensors have already been installed in at least 12 of the city’s 22 police districts.

As a candidate, Johnson committed to “end the ShotSpotter contract and invest in new resources that go after illegal guns without physically stopping and frisking Chicagoans on the street.” The now mayor-elect said the technology is “unreliable and overly susceptible to human error,” adding it “played a pivotal role” in the fatal police shooting of 13-year-old Adam Toledo.

ShotSpotter’s stock value has spiraled since the Cook County commissioner was elected on last Tuesday, falling more than 31% to $25.95 at Friday’s close. CEO Ralph Clark has since extended an olive branch to the next mayor in an effort to hold onto one of the company’s most important clients.

Following the dive in its stock, the company announced a rebrand today, saying in a statement it has changed its name to SoundThinking.

Our Tom Schuba has more on the city’s contract.


More news you need


A bright one ☀️

Easter egg hunt at new North Austin Center to be the first of many events for West Side church

Dressed in their Sunday best, the kids stood at the starting line each holding a brown paper bag — their allotted limit for the Easter egg hunt at the newly-opened North Austin Center sports facility.

As the announcer said “go,” the children scrambled to grab as many plastic eggs as they could off the artificial turf. One child, with his bag already full, balanced another egg precariously on top.

Sunday’s egg hunt was the first major event held by Grace and Peace Church at the 150,000-square-foot center, which opened in February at 1841 N. Laramie Ave. Around 800 people attended the egg hunt. It’s going to be the first of many events held here, according to the Rev. John Zayas.

Children pick up eggs with candy inside during an Easter egg hunt at the North Austin Center at 1841 N. Laramie Ave in North Austin yesterday. (Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times)

“Having a facility like this for our community is huge,” said Zayas, senior pastor at the church. Grace and Peace Church is adjacent to the sports complex and hosts sports and after-school programs there.

Developers broke ground on the $35 million site in the summer of 2021, building it with funding from the Chicago Fire Foundation and $3.5 million from the state.

Zayas said he is excited about how his church can use the sports complex in the future, but it was still unclear about what kind of events the church will hold. He said he will be consulting his congregation about how to use the space. For now, Zayas said the facility will help them expand their back-to-school and Christmas events

Our David Struett has more on the site — and yesterday’s egg hunt.


From the press box


Your daily question☕

Are you in a relationship with someone with differing political views from you? How has that affected your relationship?

Send us an email at newsletters@suntimes.com and we might feature your answer in the next Afternoon Edition.

On Friday, we asked you: Has your car been damaged by a pothole in Chicago this year? Tell us what happened — and where.

Here’s what some of you said…

“I hit a pothole on LSD. I had to replace the tire. I filed a claim with the city. I got reimbursed after two years of waiting.” — Steven Smith

“I was driving my daughter home from preparing a display stand for a candlelight vigil on March 1, after school for a classmate that had just passed unexpectedly. We were all grieving, and it was important for my daughter to come together with her friends to do this. By the time they were done, it was dark. We were driving home from northwest Rogers Park to Hyde Park and I hit a pothole — which looked like a crater the next day in the light. I was between Irving Park and Belmont in the fast lane. I could feel that my newly tuned-up car was no longer driving smoothly. My daughter could feel it too. So, I was past Belmont, but pulled off of LSD at Fullerton and into the driveway at the Lincoln Park Zoo. There we called AAA, and the man came fairly quickly to put on our spare tire and then we could go home. He was excellent. We drove on the spare until I had time to get a new tire the following Monday. I would have asked for reimbursement, but I learned on the city website that you have to file a police report, which I did not know I had to do. I had never blown a tire before. Next time I will know.” — Linda Weide

“My wife had to hit a pothole on the inner LSD at Chestnut to avoid someone who was drifting into her lane — $1,100 damage.” — Tim H. 

“Ashland and 56th Street, South Side. The city left a small layer of asphalt and it dipped — you can barely see if it’s flat. It broke my shock mount on the rear passenger and now my front end has a sound now on every little bump.” — Fabian Garcia

“During the past two years, I had to replace three ‘run-flat’ tires at $350-per-tire. Two very deep potholes on the Kennedy and one on Oak Street due to raised sewer cover. Disgusting lack of road maintenance by Chicago.” — Howard Sims

“California Avenue. This street has potholes everywhere. I ruined the suspension of my car in a short time. We need a class action lawsuit against the city of Chicago.” — Julio Gonzalez

“All of Western Avenue is horrible.” — Jeya Rivera


Thanks for reading the Chicago Sun-Times Afternoon Edition. Got a story you think we missed? Email us here.

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