CHICAGO — Despite his campaign promise to eliminate ShotSpotter, an expensive gunshot detection system, newly-elected Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has recently signed an agreement to allocate additional funds to the technology. Records indicate that Mayor Johnson’s signature was affixed to the agreement last week, authorizing a spending of over $10 million on ShotSpotter technology. This move has raised questions regarding the consistency of the mayor’s stance on the matter.
The agreement, dated June 9 and bearing Mayor Brandon Johnson’s signature, approves an expenditure of nearly $10.2 million for the very ShotSpotter technology that he pledged to abolish during his mayoral campaign.
In a statement released on Thursday afternoon, the office of Mayor Brandon Johnson revealed that an investigation will be conducted into the procedures employed by the city’s Department of Procurement Services.
The statement addressed concerns surrounding the mayor’s signature on the approval of the additional funds for the ShotSpotter program.
According to the statement, Mayor Johnson did not personally sign the approval and was not informed of the intended use of his signature. The current administration is now engaged in a comprehensive review of the Department of Procurement Services’ protocols pertaining to such authorizations.
The mayor’s office reiterated that Mayor Johnson maintains profound reservations about the effectiveness and cost of the ShotSpotter program. A final decision regarding the program’s future will be made by Mayor Johnson when the latest contract expires.
THE BALKAN VOICE
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