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
- The FBI said recently that it used technological evidence — from cellphone towers, license-plate readers, police surveillance cameras and more — to link seven carjackings and three armed robberies committed in an ambitious two-day Chicago spree in late September. An FBI affidavit for a search warrant in the case offers an unusually detailed glimpse at how investigators use technology to find carjacking patterns as they try to combat the high number of those crimes in recent years. Our Frank Main has more on those tactics.
- Chicago fire officials have announced funeral arrangements for two Chicago firefighters who died last week in the line of duty. Our Sophie Sherry details the arrangements for firefighter Jermaine Pelt and Lt. Jan Tchoryk.
- A Chicago man was convicted Friday of six federal charges for entering the U.S. Capitol and then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Kevin James Lyons could face more than 20 years in prison.
- A McKinley Park asphalt maker that has been the source of hundreds of neighbor complaints settled allegations of air pollution and dust control violations as it was awarded new city contracts last week. MAT Asphalt agreed to pay the city $20,000 and promptly begin work to improve dust and odor controls at its 2055 W. Pershing Road operation. By entering into the agreement, MAT admits no wrongdoing, which is important as it just won city contracts to supply asphalt for road improvements.
- Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul say the abortion drug mifepristone will continue to be available in Illinois while a federal court battle rages in two other states over the legality of the pill. Mifepristone, which was approved by the federal Food and Drug Administration in 2000, is now the subject of opposing legal rulings by federal judges.
- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is blocking lawyers from bringing documents to clients at Cook County Jail. Aides say the agency is trying to prevent overdoses in the facility and is being alert for papers soaked in deadly drugs. WBEZ’s Chip Mitchell has more on the paper ban.
- Chicagoans watched last week as Cook County Commissioner Brandon Johnson narrowly defeated former Chicago Public Schools CEO Paul Vallas to become the next mayor of Chicago. WBEZ’s Amy Qin and Alden Loury explain what precinct-level election results tell us about how Johnson won.
- With Cook County Commissioner Johnson set to become Chicago’s next mayor, the jockeying begins to pick his replacement on the county board. That decision falls to a group of elected Democratic committee people in Johnson’s district, which encompasses parts of the West Side and west suburbs, including Oak Park.
- And former President Barack Obama phoned mayor-elect Johnson on Saturday afternoon and gave him some advice — about parenting. “Obama spent a decent amount of time giving advice about raising a family with young kids while holding executive office,” a source tells our Lynn Sweet.
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.
“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
- Will these be Jonathan Toews’ final two games in Chicago as a member of the Blackhawks? The longtime captain is going to treat them that way ahead of a summer full of uncertainty, Ben Pope writes.
- The Bulls will face the Raptors in a 9th vs. 10th matchup as part of the NBA play-in, with the winner facing the loser of the 7th vs. 8th matchup. The lucky prize for the team that wins those two games? “An utterly hopeless, inevitably embarrassing first-round series against Eastern Conference top seed Milwaukee,” writes Steve Greenberg.
- MLB’s big 2023 rule changes have led to big impacts so far: Batting averages are up 16 points, stolen bases are up 30% and the average game time is down 31 minutes.
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.
