April 9
Using ShotSpotter gunfire detection tools, Chicago first tried sound to reduce gun violence. Now the CTA will try sight. The ZeroEyes gun-detection program will receive $1.2 million to expand its operations with fifteen hundred new cameras after the Chicago Transit Authority Board approved the measure at a regular meeting. Launched in the summer of 2024 as a pilot, the $200,000 program has reportedly detected ten guns and led to six arrests to date. Its failure to alert police to a quadruple murder on the Blue Line in September has raised questions about the program’s effectiveness. Another pilot—this one testing a one-day regional fare program—will offer unlimited twenty-four-hour CTA, Metra, and Pace service for $9.50 on weekends and $10 on weekdays. CTA’s acting president Nora Leershen reported on her ongoing work with the state government to head off a $770 million shortfall in the 2026 Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) budget. The RTA oversees CTA, Metra, and Pace services, and the shortfall’s impact would be widespread. The Board also learned about system improvements that are under way. The $25 million Austin Green Line reconstruction is part of the CTA’s All Stations Accessibility Program. The Frequent Network is designed to provide buses that arrive every ten minutes or sooner on twenty routes.
April 30
A “snap curfew” for young people was a topic at a meeting of the Chicago City Council Committee on Public Safety. A proposed ordinance would allow the police superintendent and deputy mayor for public safety to declare a youth curfew in the city with thirty minutes notice. The proposed amendment is a response to what has come to be known as “teen takeovers.” Also described as “mass gatherings,” groups of young people gather downtown with some participants’ behavior at times escalating into fights, vandalism, and violent crime. Community organizations, advocacy and youth groups, and some alderpersons, however, have raised significant legal and social concerns about the amendment and its enforcement. Council members questioned its logistics and scope, particularly in connection with non-specific language describing when and how police may impose a curfew. Council members also noted that existing powers of the police department have enabled officers to disperse large gatherings and prevent them from becoming violent without an ordinance. “I do think that this needs more time,” said Council Member Matt Martin (47th Ward). “[Attorneys] consistently told us that the proposed policy, despite being very well intended, is legally flawed.”
Two crime-prevention-related programs were reviewed at a 9th Police District Council—Deering meeting: the Community Mediation Program and the Felony Review Bypass Program. A third proposed program being considered by the state legislature would, under some circumstances, allow some first-time nonviolent offenders facing gun possession charges to apply for a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card after completing the First Time Weapon Offense Program. The ninth district includes Back of the Yards, Gage Park, Near South Side, Little Village, Bridgeport, McKinley Park, Fuller Park, West Englewood, Englewood, Brighton Park, Douglas, Armour Square, and Pilsen. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is piloting a mediation program to facilitate conversations and resolve conflicts between police officers and community members in connection with some police misconduct complaints. The program was launched in 2022, and COPA officials hosted community conversations in March and April to gather input and feedback, reported Daisha Muhammad, COPA’s director of mediation. Ethan Holland, who heads up criminal prosecutions for the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, discussed the expansion of the Felony Review Bypass Program, which allows police to file felony charges for certain nonviolent gun possession cases without requiring State’s Attorney’s Office approval. The program “is an effort to address a longstanding bottleneck in Cook County’s criminal justice system,” explained a press release from State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke.
April 30
The Community Commission for Police Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) continued its COPA Chief Administrator Search with another remote listening session to gather community input to inform the Commission in the selection of a new leader for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). The former head of the oversight body, Andrea Kersten, resigned in February amid controversy in connection with allegations of mismanagement and anti-police bias. In response to one speaker’s comment, Anthony Driver, president of the CCPSA, denied that Kersten’s resignation was connected to clashes with the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) or CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling. At the listening session, attendees said they want to see more community engagement from the new chief administrator as well as cultural competency. The new hire must be confirmed by the City Council.
May 5
At its meeting, the City Council Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy members conducted a subject matter hearing on the Peoples Gas System Modernization Program (SMP). Committee members’ concerns included delays in permitting, cost accountability, long-term plans, and improved interagency coordination. The committee proposed holding regular hearings with Peoples Gas, similar to summer preparedness hearings conducted with ComEd. The goal of those hearings is to ensure ComEd’s reliability throughout the summer. The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) has allowed the Peoples Gas Pipe Replacement Project to resume after a pause in 2023 to investigate rising costs and timelines. With this decision, the ICC has directed Peoples Gas to meet a 2035 deadline to replace 1,100 miles of aging pipe, comply with emissions reporting requirements in connection with the Chicago Climate Action Plan, and to prioritize safety. Labor unions and Peoples Gas emphasized creating jobs and the initiative’s urgency, citing safety risks and the pipe retirement deadline.
May 7
The Chicago City Council Joint Committee: Finance; Housing and Real Estate passed an amendment to the Municipal Code at its meeting by adding a section known as the “Green Social Housing” ordinance. The ordinance [later approved by the City Council] authorizes creation of a “not-for-profit residential investment corporation” to provide permanently affordable mixed-income housing in Chicago. The nonprofit would oversee a $135 million loan fund to develop the housing. City leaders say they expect to produce 1,200 affordable apartments annually through the initiative. “I don’t know how much Green Social Housing will be used in my community,” said Council Member Maria Hadden (49th Ward). “But I know that the displacement that we are experiencing, my neighbors—the seventy-five percent renters who make up the 49th Ward who are being priced out of our community—will benefit from more housing being created around the city as a whole.” City officials also cited the uncertain federal funding landscape as an added reason for the ordinance. “I’m confident that Green Social Housing in Chicago will become a model for the nation,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “This work is part of our Housing and Economic Development Bond, the largest investment in affordable housing and economic development in the history of Chicago.”
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.