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An issue SourceLine follows · every Chicago voter

Should Chicago restart gunshot detection?

Should Chicago restart gunshot detection?

On November 3, Chicago voters get a direct say on a public safety tool. The ballot asks whether the city should restart gunshot detection technology, the sensors that tell police and paramedics when and where shots are heard. The City Council put the question on the ballot on July 15, 2026. Forty nine members voted yes, none voted no, and one did not vote.

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Is this paid with your tax dollars? The council's record shows its vote to ask voters. SourceLine has not found a contract, price or payer for restarting the technology. When one is on the record, its cost and who pays will appear here. Residents see this tool differently, and SourceLine takes no side on the answer. The choice is yours.

The Chicago Defender reported on October 31 that the city is testing a replacement while voters weigh in. That is news reporting. The facts on this page come from the City Council's own record.

Weigh inWhere you stand, and why, goes to your representatives

Violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents covered by reporting agencies

Doing best in the nation95.3Maine
United States329.6
Illinois257.721st of 51 states21st of the 51 states with a reliable count

FBI Crime Data Explorer, crimes reported by police agencies, calendar year 2025. Ranked from doing best, which here means the lowest figure. 1st means the lowest figure. The FBI figures we carry are for whole states, not counties or cities. Source · See the full ranking

Violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents covered by reporting agencies

257.7Illinois21st of the 51 states with a reliable count
329.6United States
95.3Doing best in the nation: Maine
Nov 3Chicago voters answer the question on the ballot, November 3, 2026Weigh in before it
Violent crimes reported per 100,000 residents covered by reporting agencies
Illinois257.7
United States329.6

FBI Crime Data Explorer, crimes reported by police agencies, calendar year 2025. 1st means the lowest figure. Source · See the full ranking

Add your voice, your neighbors add theirs, and the count goes to the people who decide before they vote.

More on this issue

CityChicago City CouncilPassed Jul 15

Who decides this

Whole board: passed 49 to 0, Jul 15

Latest vote, Jul 15: The council voted 49 to 0 on the putting the gunshot detection question to Chicago voters. It passed. The issue is still open.

See who decides at every level, and the laws behind it ›

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About these figures

Every figure on this page shows the year it describes. Public agencies release their numbers on their own schedules, often a year or more after the work of counting is done. The Census Bureau, for example, publishes its five year community survey each December, and the national reading test is given every two years. That is why some figures are not from this year. SourceLine updates each one as soon as the agency publishes it.

For some counties and small towns, SourceLine has not found meeting records online. Where it has not, we add them as they become available. A page that says SourceLine hasn’t updated a record yet means exactly that.