Mayor Brandon Johnson campaigned on a pledge to end the city's roughly $9 million-a-year ShotSpotter contract. But the company, now known as SoundThinking, announced in its latest earnings call that Chicago's 2024 budget includes continued funding for ShotSpotter - as well as a new deal to pilot CrimeTracer, a law enforcement database and search engine.
A largely unasked question is becoming glaring: Is Illinois doing all it should to use artificial intelligence to make government cost less and work better? So far, the evidence says no.
Brandon made a lot of pledges that won’t come true.