CHICAGO – Fourteen Chicago aldermen have told Mayor Brandon Johnson they “cannot and will not” vote for his 2025 budget if it does not include a renewal of the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection system. Of the seven demands listed in the group’s letter, four relate to police action.
Johnson is introducing his budget today, which had a $982 million deficit. Due to undoubtedly tense negotiations, he will need 26 of the 50 councilors to sign the plan. He starts 14 in the hole before his plan is even introduced.
In a letter to Johnson yesterday, the group claimed that “when it comes to the city budget, 51% of residents trust councilors more than the mayor (10%).” The letter claims “this is what Chicago wants” and begins with a list of eight demands and the group’s reasoning for each.
At the top of the list: reject a property tax increase. Media reports indicate that Johnson, who made a campaign promise not to raise property taxes, will have to break that promise to balance his budget. The councilors called a tax increase a “non-starter.”
That was followed by a demand that the city reconnect its ShotSpotter gunfire detection network. Johnson allowed the city’s contract with the company to expire in September, despite the wishes of two-thirds of the City Council and, according to one survey, 70% of city residents who supported it.
The letter notes that CPD Supt. Larry Snelling, selected by Johnson to lead the police department, is supporting the technology.
“We urge you to reinstate ShotSpotter as we explore alternative technologies,” the group wrote.
Their third demand also involved police: create a new police district on the Southwest Side and a satellite office for the existing 12th precinct to “better handle rising crime in the area.”
State officials have already agreed to provide a building that will serve as headquarters for a new district for $1, the letter said. A new district would provide relief for the Chicago Lawn (8th) district, which councilors say is the “busiest and largest in population, and ranks first for all crimes committed in the city.”
They also want Johnson to keep the CPD budget “intact,” arguing that now is not the time to cut back on hiring new officers. Quite the opposite.”
The other demands of the group are:
- Refuse call(s) to dismantle tax increment financing (TIF) districts
- Divert money intended for migrant services to fill the budget gap
- Finalize the city’s fire contract
Signatories to the letter were Councilors Brian Hopkins, Anthony Beale, Peter Chico, Marty Quinn, Raymond Lopez, Derrick Curtis, Silvana Tabares, Monique Scott, Felix Cardona, Scott Waguespack, Gil Villegas, Anthony Napolitano, Brendan Reilly and Jim Gardiner.
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