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This Thursday, WTTW News has stories on crime, City Council and, of course, armadillos. |
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ShotSpotter screen. (WTTW News) |
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When Mayor Brandon Johnson scrapped the city’s controversial gunshot detection system, he defied critics who warned that without ShotSpotter, police officers would be unable to stop a wave of gun violence.
But nearly a year after officials turned off the system of microphones that sent an alert to police officers every time the system picked up suspected gunfire, a new analysis of Chicago crime data shows a steep drop in violent crime and homicides in the 12 South and West side neighborhoods that had ShotSpotter sensors until September 2024.
Police beats that had ShotSpotter sensors saw an approximately 17.8% decrease in violent crime and a 37.5% decrease in homicides during the first six months of 2025, as compared with the first six months of 2024, according to the analysis of Chicago crime data by Rob Vargas, a sociology professor at the University of Chicago who leads the UChicago Justice Project.
See the full analysis here.
More about the study:
Citywide, incidents of violent crime dropped 17.7%, while the number of homicides dropped 30% during the same period, as compared with the same period in 2024, according to Chicago police data. The number of shootings was also down 30%, according to police data.
“Crime increases and crime decreases have become crazy politicized,” Vargas told WTTW News. “I wanted to put everyone’s hypothesis to the test.”
The analysis by the UChicago Project, which studies the politics of policing, is the first academic study to examine the impact the decommissioning of ShotSpotter on crime rates in Chicago. The system was not in use on Chicago’s North Side or downtown.
“This debate stirred up a lot of fear,” Vargas said. “Oftentimes, the politics of fear drives these decisions, and in the case of ShotSpotter, the fear was real, but unfounded.”
There was no evidence that ShotSpotter lived up to promises that it would reduce gun violence, Johnson said, calling it no more than a “walkie talkie on a pole.”
“City leaders deserve credit for pulling the plug on ineffective technology,” Vargas said.
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Armadillos are slowly, but consistently, creeping northward as temperatures warm and areas experience less snow cover. (Lois McCleary / iStock) |
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Ever since they crossed the Rio Grande into Texas in the mid-1800s, armadillos have been making a slow but steady push north. At this point, it’s a matter of when, not if, they’ll turn up in Chicago, according to one expert.
“I believe we’ll be seeing them very soon,” said Anderson Feijó, assistant curator of mammals at the Field Museum. “I would say five to 10 years."
And they might already be closer than we think, giving scientists a short window of opportunity to understand the implications of introducing a new mammal into the local ecosystem.
Wait, what?
The armadillo is related to the sloth and anteater, found almost exclusively in South and Central America. Armadillos have already made their way to southern Illinois, where sightings and encounters are no longer a rarity.
Armadillos remained a southern curiosity for decades, and assumptions were made regarding their ability to survive harsh northern winters. Cold temperatures below freezing are thought to be one obstacle — armadillos don’t hibernate, and they don’t have much in the way of hair or fat stores.
Snow cover is another presumed impediment, perhaps even more so than cold, because it keeps armadillos from getting to their food source, primarily ants, termites and other insects they dig up from the ground.
But armadillos are nothing if not adaptable.
What wildlife experts want to know is how quickly the creatures are advancing into the central and northern parts of the state. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is asking the public to report any sightings online to get a sense of the animal’s movement.
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Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) speaks during a meeting of the Chicago City Council in December 2019. (WTTW News) |
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Former Ald. Walter Burnett (27th Ward) will collect an annual city taxpayer-funded pension of $120,608 — and could also earn more than $310,000 at the same time as head of the Chicago Housing Authority, according to records obtained by WTTW News. Burnett, who represented parts of the West Side and the West Loop for 30 years on the Chicago City Council, retired July 31.
Burnett will start receiving pension payments of $10,134 per month sometime in October, and they will continue for the rest of his life. Mayor Brandon Johnson said July 29 that he expected to name a new CEO to lead the nation’s third-largest public housing agency by the end of August. The CHA has been without a permanent leader for more than nine months.
It is legal in Illinois to simultaneously earn a salary from a government agency and collect a pension from a separate unit of government. Burnett would not be the first public official to “double dip” by taking on a new taxpayer-paid job after retiring from another government job.
“I don’t see anything wrong with it,” said Burnett, adding that he is still waiting to hear if he is going to get the CHA job after a confirmation vote was delayed at the board’s July meeting.
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Back in the Day: August 7, 1980 - David Bowie Makes Chicago Theater Debut as ‘The Elephant Man’ |
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In 1980, David Bowie spent a month in Chicago playing the lead role in a production of “The Elephant Man” at the Blackstone Theatre (now the Loop’s Merle Reskin Theatre). It was a surprise move for the rockstar, who would be more likely to visit the city for a headlining concert at the Arie Crown Theater, the Auditorium Theatre or the International Amphitheater. During his time in Chicago, he told an interviewer at NME that he was moved by Bernard Pomerance’s 1977 play about a Victorian-era Englishman with severe physical deformities, because “a lot of those strange freak stories appealed to me in my teens and then stayed with me—everything from hairy women to people with fifteen lips.” On this day 45 years ago, the opening night of "The Elephant Man" premiered. Chicago Tribune theater critic Julia Winer caught that performance, writing, "In a time of safe copies, [Bowie] looks an original." Bowie would return to Chicago several more times to perform his music, but his theater foray marks a fascinating wrinkle in the singular artist's career. |
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events |
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Every Thursday, WTTW News arts correspondent Marc Vitali highlights the city’s must-see cultural happenings.
Marc Vitali: There are enough weird and wonderful things on this week’s list to cram 10 pounds of art into a five-pound bag. (Apologies to the Muses for that terrible metaphor). Seriously, if you want to laugh, hear new sounds, or simply watch a parade with Priscilla Presley and Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, we’ve got you covered. And if you think we’re joking about that last one, read on.
The Windy City Comedy Fest – various locations
Seven venues host comedians from Chicago and beyond at this inaugural festival. 50 performers were selected from 500 submissions, and these joke-slingers will shoot for laughs at The Den Theater, the Annoyance Theater, and Lincoln Lodge among others. We could all use a chuckle – and if the fest takes off, you’ll have bragging rights to say you were there when it all started. Aug. 7-10.
Sound & Gravity Launch Party – Rockwell on the River
Sound & Gravity is a new festival coming in September. Get a preview of the fest at this launch party with performances by Chicago music makers Sharp Pins and Ben LaMar Gay along with DJ sets by Smashed Plastic. If you’re open to adventurous music, you should dig this sound sampler from Constellation and Pitchfork Festival’s Mike Reed. Free with an RSVP. Tuesday, Aug. 12.
“MJ” – Nederlander Theatre
If you like your theater not-so-daring, the MJ musical is back. Michael Jackson is the star of a story that has the good sense to end before things get messy. An overloaded creative team — does a jukebox musical really require the talents of Pulitzer Prize-winner Lynn Nottage? — but it’s a blast, and “Dancing Machine” alone is almost worth the price of admission, which ain’t cheap. Aug. 12-14.
Des Plaines Theatre Centennial Celebration – Des Plaines
The theater celebrates 100 years with a screening of the silent film “Are Parents People?” Great title — but wait, there’s more! How about a parade with “Charlie Chaplin” and vintage autos led by Grand Marshals Priscilla Presley, Micky Dolenz of the Monkees, and Jim Peterik? At night there’s a ticketed concert with Micky, Priscilla, Peterik’s Garage Rock superstars and Danny Seraphine of the band Chicago. This sounds insanely fun or quite possibly just insane. Aug. 9.
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It’s been hot, mild, smoky, rainy and stormy this summer. What’s your ideal weather in Chicago? Tell us why.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published. |
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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