# Chicago Plans Six-District Gunshot Detection Pilot

Chicago voters are being asked whether the city should restart gunshot-detection technology, while Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration plans a pilot across six police districts. The signal identifies no selected vendor, solicitation, funding amount, or confirmed start date; ShotSpotter is identified as the incumbent for the previous citywide deployment, which the city canceled. The mayor said the city spent $100 million on the prior technology. For contractors, this is a potential future municipal public-safety technology opportunity, not an announced procurement or confirmed award.

- Companies offering gunshot-detection systems or related services can use the planned six-district pilot as an indicator of potential city demand, but no procurement route or vendor selection has been announced.
- The ballot question and city council action may shape whether Chicago resumes deployment; the source identifies these, along with pilot updates, as relevant developments for suppliers to follow.
- The prior deployment’s cancellation and the mayor’s statement about its cost make the city’s evaluation of performance, spending, and the role of technology relevant considerations for prospective bidders.

**Jurisdictions:** sled
**Industries:** Public Safety
**Topics:** Emergency Response
**Published:** November 02, 2026

### Government Entities
- City of Chicago
- Chicago Police Department (CPD)
- Chicago Department of Public Safety

### Vendors
- ShotSpotter (Incumbent contractor for the previous gunshot-detection deployment)

### Key Quotes
> Since its removal, we've had the lowest amount of homicides and shootings in 60 years. I do think that there is room for us to make sure that technology is advancing our society and it's not being used to replace our society or punish people.
> — Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago

> Here we are 25 months later and we don't have a replacement.
> — Matt O'Shea, Alderman

### Sources
- [Gunshot detection tech’s future on Chicago ballots as Johnson pushes pilot | Illinois | thecentersquare.com](https://www.thecentersquare.com/illinois/article_f3cae6f6-c6fd-4685-8f62-41379238db4b.html) - The Center Square