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Federal Judge Orders CPD to Ban Gun Union Says is Likely to Misfire

A Sig Sauer P320 pistol. (TexasWarhawk / Wikimedia Commons)

Chicago police officers should “immediately” stop using a gun while on duty that police union leaders believe could accidentally discharge, according to the federal judge overseeing the effort to reform the Chicago Police Department.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer said in a written order issued Monday that she agreed with leaders of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 that officers who have an alternative service weapon that “meets appropriate standards should be required immediately to use that alternative weapon.”

Pallmeyer said city officials did “not fully answer” her questions about on-duty officers’ continued use of the Sig Sauer P320, a popular weapon with police officers and members of the military that has been the subject of dozens of complaints that it can fire without the trigger being pulled.

A 2023 investigation by The Trace and The Washington Post identified dozens of unintentional shootings involving the P320. Several law enforcement agencies banned the gun after officers suffered serious injuries, according to the news organizations. 

Some backstory:

Pallmeyer’s order came at the request of the police union, whose leaders had asked Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling to immediately ban the use of the gun, which was listed as the primary service weapon for 10% of CPD’s officers.

The gun maker’s website said that while the Sig Sauer P320 “meets and exceeds all U.S. safety standards,” the company is offering “a voluntary upgrade program” that will equip the weapon with an “enhanced, upgraded trigger and slide.”

CPD’s arsenal committee voted unanimously in April to phase out the use of the Sig Sauer P320 because of “safety concerns,” CPD Range Master Sgt. Wasim Said told Pallmeyer in an affidavit filed with the court.

Approximately 1,540 CPD officers were given until July 14 to purchase a new service weapon and notify department officials, Said told Pallmeyer. As of Sept. 15, 756 officers have registered a new service weapon with department officials to replace the Sig Sauer P320, according to Said’s affidavit.

Officials Break Ground on Quantum Computing Campus, Promise Economic Boom for South Chicago. Neighbors Want That in Writing

Pictured from left to right: Blue Owl Capital Managing Director Colleen Collins, Commonwealth Edison CEO Gil Quinones, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, Gov. JB Pritzker and PsiQuantum CEO Jeremy O’Brien on Sept. 30, 2025. (Capitol News Illinois)

Ground was ceremonially broken Tuesday on the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park, marking the first phase of development of what’s been dubbed Quantum Shore Chicago. The 440-acre technology and innovation district is set to rise up on the long-abandoned site of the former U.S. Steel South Works.

The project, announced in 2024, is backed by a $500 million investment from the state of Illinois.

California-based PsiQuantum will be the anchor tenant, with plans to build “America’s first utility-scale quantum computer,” according to Jeremy O’Brien, cofounder and CEO of PsiQuantum. IBM has also committed to the site.

Officials from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson were on hand for the groundbreaking and said the quantum campus would be an economic engine benefiting the Southeast Side, delivering jobs, investment and growth.

How some residents dispute that: 

During a news conference held Tuesday morning, members of various neighborhood organizations questioned the commitment of politicians and the developer, Related Midwest, to a community benefits agreement that would put promises in writing.

Members of the group — which operates under the name Coalition for a South Works CBA — said the public was not invited to the groundbreaking, just as they hadn’t been asked to attend last year’s announcement of the quantum campus.

Anne Holcomb, co-founder of the environmental justice group ETHOS, is concerned that Related Midwest and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency have consistently referred to a 1997 report that determined the South Works site is safe and not in need of any additional remediation.

“That letter is 30 years old, using 30-year-old science,” Holcomb said. “We know there are hot zones. … We don’t want our kids getting sick 20 years from now.”

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Pritzker Expects Trump to 'Keep the Militarization Going' Despite Government Shutdown

Pedestrians yell at federal agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection as they walk along North Clark Street near West Oak Street in the River North neighborhood, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025, in Chicago. (Ashlee Rezin/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

It’s not yet clear when military troops could be deployed into Illinois, but Gov. JB Pritzker expects President Donald Trump to “keep the militarization going” even after the federal government shut down overnight.

Pritzker on Wednesday said he’s received no new information about the Trump administration’s possible deployment of 100 military troops into Illinois since he first learned of those plans earlier this week.

But on Day 1 of the federal government shutdown, Pritzker said he doesn’t expect Trump to back off his efforts.

“Unfortunately the president is likely to keep the militarization going,” he said during a press event Wednesday at the University of Illinois Chicago. “He can do that because there are emergency personnel and military personnel that he can keep on the job. He is likely to do that.”

As of Wednesday, homicides are down 28% and shootings are down more than 35% in Chicago compared to the same time last year, according to city data.

More from WTTW News: 

• There are nine Target stores across Illinois that will be open Thursday for the midnight release of Taylor Swift's much-hyped album, “The Life of a Showgirl.” Fans can begin queuing up at 10 p.m. and will receive a ticket reserving the album, which comes with a double-sided poster and a poem written by Swift. Check out the locations here. 

Back in the Day: October 2, 1935 - Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., First Black Astronaut, Born in Chicago

Robert Henry Lawrence Jr. was a decorated and accomplished Air Force pilot who was the first African American selected for spaceflight by NASA in 1967. On this day 90 years ago, Lawrence was born in Chicago. He graduated from Englewood High School at 16, got his degree in chemistry from Bradley University at 20 and entered the Air Force. There, he logged 2,500 flying hours and managed to earn a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Ohio State University in 1965. Two years later, he was selected to be part of the Manned Orbiting Laboratory (MOL), which was a Cold War-era project between the Air Force and the National Reconnaissance Office to obtain high-resolution photographic imagery of America’s enemies. According to NASA, when Lawrence became the first African American astronaut, he said, “This is nothing dramatic. It’s just a normal progression. I’ve been very fortunate.” Months later, Lawrence died in a training flight when a trainee failed to land a complicated and steep descent maneuver. Because the MOL program was a highly classified secret operation, Lawrence’s name was not well known until decades after his death. 

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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events 

Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights the week’s must-see cultural events. 

Josh Terry: Last week, arts correspondent Marc Vitali left WTTW after a 37-year stint covering culture. While he will be dearly missed, the weekly arts column will live on in the Daily Chicagoan. Before joining WTTW News, I worked as an arts and culture journalist for publications like The A.V. Club, the Chicago Tribune and VICE. I am excited to recommend all the interesting cultural events and festivities this great city has to offer. If you run an event you'd like featured, email jterry@wttw.com.  

Play: 'wayfinding' by Whitney Rowland — Berger Park Coach House
Here’s The Exit Theatre Co. is a small community-centered arts collective that’s less than a year old but has been putting on plays in Edgewater. The well-reviewed “wayfinding” by Whitney Rowland is next up and the fledgling troupe’s largest production yet. It opens Oct. 6. Buy tickets here. 6215 N. Sheridan Road

Book Event: “Such Great Heights” — GMan Tavern 
Chris DeVille is the managing editor of the music publication Stereogum, where he’s covered emerging trends and acts in rock, pop, punk and more for well over a decade. On Monday, Oct. 6, the Ohio author makes a stop at GMan Tavern to promote his excellent new book “Such Great Heights: The Complete Cultural History of the Indie Rock Explosion,” which documents disparate trends in music, technology and culture in the early 2000s and beyond. He’ll be interviewed by local journalist and musician Jack Riedy. RSVP for the free event here.  

Film Screening: “The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt's Monument to Ida B. Wells” — Siskel Film Center
On Saturday, Oct. 4, at 12:30 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m., film director Rana Segal will attend Siskel Film Center screenings of her new documentary, “The Light of Truth: Richard Hunt's Monument to Ida B. Wells."  According to a press release, it "weaves together the lives of the late Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt with that of civil rights crusader Ida B. Wells." Buy tickets here.

What's the best steakhouse in the Chicago area? Tell us where and why. 

Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.

• Plans for a new Chicago Fire stadium are moving forward at The 78. A look at what fans can expect from the new development. 

5:30 PM | 10:00 PM

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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry