>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago tonight.

I'm Brandis Friedman.

Here is what we're looking at.

Paris and Trump face off in a critical debate.

Our spotlight politics team on what to expect.

Illinois's plan to enforce gun laws and stop the flow of illegal firearms.

>> Illinois is one of 10 states plus Washington, D.C., with the so-called assault weapons books.

>> Exploring the details of Illinois's assault weapons ban.

And Mayor Johnson announced a city hiring freeze and limits on overtime to help close a nearly billion dollar budget gap.

>> And now to some of today's top stories.

Presidential candidates, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are set to face off for a much anticipated debate tonight.

The 2 campaigns agreed to use the same rules and format as the June debate between Trump and Joe Biden.

That means microphones will once again be muted unless a candidate is speaking.

There will be no audience and candidates will not be allowed to question each other directly.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker had some words of advice today for Harris.

>> The guy on the other side of the stage is a lying liar.

Who lies constantly.

And as you know, a lie can travel halfway around the globe before truth puts on its shoes.

So she's got a number one, make sure that she is giving her plan and seconds, making sure that she's just missing the lies that are coming out of him.

>> Tonight's debate airs on ABC at 08:00PM Central Time.

We'll have more on that with our Spotlight politics team later in the program.

1200 men, women and children living in 3 of the city's migrant shelters will be moving out before the end of next month as the city's crisis enters a new phase.

The city says it will be closing the shelters in Pilsen and the West Loop by October.

First, a 3rd shelter and Hyde Park will be closed by October 24th.

All of the residents will be moved to one of 14 other city operated shelters across the city.

The shelter's closure means 3,000 fewer beds.

But city officials say there will still be 2000 available across Chicago in case of another surge before the presidential election.

Another compounding negative impact from the city's much criticized parking meter deal.

A report from Chicago's inspector general says the city has failed to do enough to make sure the company Chicago parking meters is hiring minority and women-owned businesses for at least 25% of annual operating expenses.

>> The IG says Chicago parking meters improperly claimed credit for minority women owned business.

That turns out was not in the East certified it Denver.

What's Burke says the shortfall is because of misconduct but poor management.

city says it will take steps to correct the issue to find out how Chicago's infamous parking meter meter deal came to be check out our Web site at Wt Tw dot com Slash explains.

Up next, we explained the state's ban on assault weapons right after this.

>> Chicago tonight is made possible in part why the Alexander and John Nichols family.

The gym and K maybe family.

The Pope Brothers Foundation.

And the support of these donors.

>> The mother of the alleged Georgia school shooter said today she's set to talk with investigators on Thursday.

This after last week's shooting at Apalachee High School that left 2 students and 2 teachers dead violence involving guns is an ongoing problem around the country.

And here in Chicago, certain types of guns have been especially under the microscope tied to the country's persistent mass shootings.

We begin our focus on guns this evening with a look at action taken by the Illinois Legislature.

Here's Amanda Vicki.

>> there's talk about how to curb gun violence, 2 words often come assault It's a loaded Those who own them consider it a meaningless classification deployed for political purposes to critics.

They signify guns literally meant for Illinois is one of 10 states plus Washington, D.C., with the so-called assault weapons ban on the But the intention of the term may not be universally agreed upon.

Illinois has a definition it's spelled out in not protect Illinois Communities.

of 2023 state law that bans assault weapons from being purchased souls or owned in Illinois.

There is an exception, anyone who legally owned banned guns before the law took effect can keep Illinois's definition is thorough and the list of guns that meet the criteria is constantly evolving at a high level, the law describes an assault weapon as a semiautomatic firearm with the capacity to fire a lot of rounds quickly.

That includes AR 15 style guns like those used in the mass shooting in suburban Highland Park as well as in Uvalde, Texas, Buffalo, New York and The law prohibits high capacity magazines, 12 defining them as anything with at least 10 rounds of ammunition for long guns, 15 for handguns.

Of course, there are ways to buy a gun illegally or to modify illegal firearm into one.

That's more high power and the availability of so-called assault weapons and other states, including all of Illinois's neighbors, means that such make their way into Illinois fan or not, which is, of course, also illegal gun rights advocates say they shouldn't have to contend with such limitations that the Second Amendment protects their right to bear arms, including AR Fifteens.

Whether Illinois's law is constitutional is a question.

U.S. Supreme Court is likely to set up.

>> And you can see more of our Emmy award-winning series W T Tw News explains on our website and we have more on the movement of illegal guns and to the fight to stop it right after this.

>> Chicago, tonight's coverage of public safety is supported by the Sui-lee Charitable Foundation Initiative for reducing violence in Chicago.

>> As you've heard, Illinois has some of the nation's strictest gun laws.

However, firearm legislation in neighboring states has a significant impact on Illinois.

Despite all the restrictions and regulations in place, illegal gun trafficking still poses a problem.

Here to talk more about gun violence issues and potential solutions are Kobe Williams, director of Cure Violence Global, a Public safety initiative that treats violence as a health epidemic.

Kim Smith, director of national programs and external engagement at the University of Chicago Crime Lab in Education Lab.

And Christopher Amman, special agent in charge for the ATF's Chicago Field Division.

Thanks all of you for joining us.

So especially let's start with you, please.

Last week we know that the Chicago Police Department said so far this year, almost 8500 illegal guns have been taken off the streets.

That is slightly ahead of where we were this time last year, according to their numbers, set the stage for us.

From your perspective, how would you describe or qualify the flow of illegal in Illinois?

So it's a constant it's a constant problem.

However, it's one that's growing.

So I think we're on track this year for more than 12,000 firearm recoveries here in the city of Chicago.

These are crime guns.

mean, these are guns that are recovered.

>> In the commission of a crime or by somebody who's not allowed to have those firearms.

So one of the things we do at ATF is collaborate on this problem to try to stop that flow.

But also to address the violent crime.

So to address the shooter, unfortunately, you have to me of both.

You have too many illegal guns flowing into Chicago and then you have a group of people who are willing to use them to inflict damage against our citizens.

So ATF, few public safety is paramount.

So we work with our partners, Chicago Police, Department, federal, state and local agencies to try to go after the shooters and their sources of crime, guns.

>> Kim Smith, what do we know about where these guns are coming from?

>> We've looked at the data a few times partnered with Chicago Police Department, the city of Chicago mayor's office really trying to understand where these guns coming from because as a special agent said every year thousands of guns are recovered and in Chicago, but there are no gun stores.

So when we look at the data, we see that 40% of illegal firearms actually originate from Illinois.

A lot of them from suburban Cook County, but 60% are coming from other states neighboring states.

So there's both an interstate and then intrastate dynamic.

>> The city did some research on this in 2014 2017 or are there plans to continue this research?

>> I don't know.

I think that's really up to the city leadership.

But I will say that the work that was done in 2014 2017, I think, is something that many other cities and states even have looked to and replicated.

So I would hope to see a continuation of that in future.

So sounds like something that would be useful then for the work that the folks at table here that are sitting here do as people, you know, who care a lot about data.

We think that more data is is generally a good thing.

It helps us understand the scope of the problem and opportunities to improve the status quo.

Kobe, you've written a book interrupting violence.

You tell your own story from, you know, going from being a leader in a notorious gang.

2 leading advocacy work for violence, intervention in the work that you do today.

What did you see or what do you know as far as why people carry guns and how they how they get them?

>> I mean, I you know, growing up in the community where we grew up it >> Goes was like more like a protection, you know, just to have it, you know, asset.

And I think was always we want to get caught with it than without it.

So now, when look now, 30 years later, guns and violence making our country So we got to do more.

So when I say do more, I think we gotta continue to invest more money into violence.

Prevention programs, CBF work in the community and now local because I look at the person like myself in them out of my colleagues in the bottom will work with all over the world violence prevention.

We see a big impact in reducing shoot kill him in the community.

We really see that every day.

I look at a person like myself who was in prison now present to public speaking with Census does not want being a success story.

So it's all about investing more in the community invest more with the brothers assist us.

In this field every day because they making a big difference.

Toledo shooting and killing in the communities every day.

And I think that be talked about enough, though.

>> Special agent talk to us if you would, about crime, gun intelligence.

What is that and how does it work in Chicago?

So there's 2 main tenets of our crime, gun intelligence strategy.

As I mentioned earlier, the first is to address those pulling the trigger in the second is the source of crime, guns to achieve that.

Atf uses 2 important databases are tree system that allows us to trace a farm recovered back to the original point of sale so we can identify that point of diversion.

So when it went from a legal commerce stream to legal commerce was recovered or crime seconds are not even system.

This helps us late shootings throughout Chicago and throughout the region and throughout the country.

So this helps us recover cartridge cases, a crime scenes and turn them into a network of millions of images that connect the shootings.

So what we try to do, theirs focus our efforts on those who are possessing and using guns that are used in other shootings.

So we built a look at That small population of those who are actually pulling the trigger as opposed to those that may be possessing guns for other reasons.

what we find from the data I mentioned those 12,000 gun recoveries in Chicago, about 20% are linked ballistic lead to another shooting.

So what we do in our crime gun intelligence center with our partners every day as we're f-king on focusing on that population that needs the attention of federal, state and local law enforcement.

With our limited resources.

So can that technology can I mean, it sounds like it could help you solve crimes, committed with guns and take them off the streets.

Can it deter gun trafficking?

>> Absolutely.

So one of the things we're doing, we're tracing that gun.

We're focusing ATF also in addition to a criminal enforcement mission, we regulate the firearms industry as well.

So we regulate federally.

>> Licensed firearms dealers across the country.

So again, intelligence base mean that we have to focus our efforts on the crime, guns that are being supplied and sourced crime.

Gun intelligence helps us focus our efforts to on federal firearms licensees that we need to inspect who may be sources of crime, guns, individuals who may be sources of crime, guns who are dealing without a license with outside of that whole process.

So really a crime gun intelligence does is helps us focus.

Our effort helps to solve crime and make sure that we're focusing on the right people for federal enforcement.

>> Kim, based on your research, what are some of the like the kind of scary and startling trends that you all have been noticing with regards to casings, fatality rates.

My colleagues, Jacob Miller and against Ludwig released some research earlier this year and shed light on the increasing fatality rate in the city of Chicago.

So what that means is?

>> There are thousands of shootings every year.

Some of them are are homicides and the likelihood that a shooting turned into a homicide has increased.

We've also seen an increase in the number of shell casings that Chicago police discover covering 10 years ago.

One percent of shooting incident have 10, 20 or more sorry, shell casings.

But last year on 16% of the crime scenes shooting crime scenes that Chicago police responded to had or shell casings.

We've also seen an increase in the number of Glock switches that Chicago PD is recovering.

So that means that you can transform a semiautomatic firearm into firearm that can, you know, let out 100 rounds without reloading at machine gun pay.

So there are a lot of of really troubling trends on the horizon.

>> Kobe, I'm gonna let you have the last word.

Almost got about a minute left on that.

Obviously community violence intervention is something that you certainly advocate a lot for.

Is there room for, you know, collaboration between the work that you do and law enforcement is.

I know there's not always a lot of community trust there.

Yeah, but I everybody got a role to play, you know, and all.

>> I think it's important, you know, a lot of places like I see not just Chicago, but places.

It's important you know, someplace law enforcement, you know, let do what we got to do.

Our part.

But when they step into it, we know to step back do because we tend to focus on stopping the shooting, killing on the front before it happened.

Wants to happen with long for to step in to got to got a job to do like we got a job to do.

But we focus on assets.

It has behavior before will take place.

So I think it's everybody to do a role.

But this.

It is a thin line.

Well, you know, our credibility everything.

So to have that trust in this community, we got to have that trust with people would listen to or where they will come.

Talk to us a nice and about if they created a me created a crime would at this idiot that would have to trust where we CA tab to help chased a think.

And that's what we tried to do.

Indeed, lot of work cut out the folks at the table.

Thanks to all 3 of you for joining us.

Special agent Christopher Amman, Kimberly Smith, Kobe Williams, thanks, everybody.

>> Up next, what we might expect at tonight's debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Our spotlight politics team on that and much more right after this.

It might be the mid 80's outside, but they're feeling a deep freeze at City Hall this week Mayor Brandon Johnson announces a hiring freeze.

>> To help close a big budget gap.

The mayor's belt tightening strategy comes amid a record-breaking jury award in a wrongful conviction.

Lawsuits here with all that and more is our spotlight.

Politics team Amanda Finicky, header, Sharon and Nick Blumberg.

And there may or may not be a presidential debate tonight that have details.

So but let's start with the city because in a statement today, Mayor Johnson and or I guess a statement from his budget director yesterday, the city announced cost-cutting measures to deal with the city's massive budget gap.

Heather saving strategies that stood out to you so they are not going to find 223 million dollars in savings from putting a hiring freeze on and curtailing overtime.

That's not how this works, but it will send a message right that this is a very serious financial crisis and that the city >> is prepared to tighten its belt before it asks taxpayers to dig into their pockets a little bit deeper.

It also sends, I think a message to the Chicago Public School district because most of this year's budget is because they refuse to make 175 million dollar pension payment.

So this is a little bit perhaps of game gamesmanship telling CPS, Hey, you didn't do this.

And now there's a consequence and it's going to be a little bit of back and forth for the next couple of months.

Maybe they'll find a 223 million dollars in couch cushions.

I mean, I should start looking to any idea how long this hiring freeze and over time limits glass.

So I think at least until the end of the year because the city has to sort of get this year's budget out of the black by December And they've got to deal with a 982 million dollar projected deficit for 2025.

Also by the end of the year.

So until that is all figured out, the city is going to put away the credit card for a little while.

Nick, do you think this could be just the first of more belt tightening moves down the road?

Absolutely.

I mean, in the mayor's budget forecast, they laid out a bunch of different options trying to find operational expenses that they could pay for with grants.

>> Obviously cuts to programs and services to talking about delaying certain project.

But, you know, the issue here is that there are only so many things you can do.

You can institute a freeze.

You can raise, you know, taxes and fees.

You can issue bonds.

You can refinance debt.

You can sell assets, but you only get to sell them once.

And as we saw with the parking meter deal that can be very unpopular.

So there's not a lot on the table.

And state aid isn't looking particularly likely.

It sounds like Yannick asked the governor about this today because there has been this notion.

Well, all right.

Well, we'll ask the state both to on the city side as well as coming up with additional money for CPS, something that we've heard.

The mayor.

>> The teachers union president clamor for and the governor really making clear that gonna be happening.

He said, first of all, he has not yet been asked by the Johnson administration.

>> No request been made but he said the notion that this city's it is going to receive supplemental funding from Illinois.

It can happen.

Not happening, One thing that is adding to the city's expenses, of course, those paying settlements and jury awards for law enforcement misconduct.

Heather?

>> The jury awarding a record breaking amount to a man who was wrongfully convicted or wrongfully imprisoned for 10 years.

Tell us about this case.

So this case dates all the way back to 2008 where in 18 year-old man, Marcella Brown was arrested and convicted in connection with a murder.

Now he says that he wasn't that that he didn't fire the gun and that he didn't know who did.

But he ended up implicating himself in the case after being interrogated for more than 5 hours and being held for more than 36 hours, even as his mother hired an attorney and tried to get that attorney in to speak with him that led to his conviction being overturned and him getting a certificate of innocence.

And this led to this massive jury verdict, which is significantly more than really any other verdict.

We've seen involving a single plaintive, for example, the most recent wrongful conviction settlement approved by the City council was for 22 million dollars.

And that man had spent decades in prison.

So this case really illustrates the stark just roll of the dice that the city takes windy, take these kind of cases to federal juries because any lawyer will tell you I'm not a lawyer but sometimes play Sure will tell you never quite know what a jury is going to do now that the city's law department says they're assessing their options.

They can certainly appeal an attempt to negotiate a settlement that will sort of end this litigation.

However, the last time the city lost a case like this, that jury verdict of 21 million dollars was And a TNT executive Paul Scott says trial began today.

Water prosecutors alleging and how might his his trial impact Madigan trial?

all has to do with bribery surrounding Madigan, allegedly in policy as a says that he is not guilty of this.

But >> he basically is accused funneling money.

Let's say a ghost payroll to a lobbyist really to curry favor with the former Illinois House speaker as last year as I was seeking legislation that was ultimately passed, became law over a veto by then Governor Ron Bruce Rauner.

That would save 18 millions of dollars by no longer mandating that they keep up land lines when they say everybody uses cell phone so they shouldn't have to do that sort of thing.

So what is key in this case is, first of all, just watching what arguments are made here because we know that in October this is going to be something that has brought up in the Megan trial.

It's also key because this is really the first case since the U.S. Supreme Court changed the definitions that were working with in terms of what is considered bribery.

Last again says that he didn't do it under the old definition or the new, but that we're going to have a new instructions.

Really, the jury is going to have to follow.

So this is quite the preview, OK?

So following last week's very tragic school shooting in Georgia, seeing new efforts in Illinois to strengthen gun storage laws in homes with children.

Nick?

>> Update us on this.

It's the Safe firearm storage who's behind it was opposing it.

Well, this is, you an effort from Democrats in the Illinois legislature to tighten the rules right now.

If there's someone 13 or younger guns have to be locked up if they're in the house.

>> There was a measure floated in the spring by Democrats in the General Assembly to say they have to be locked up period that got pushed back from the NRA from the far-right, Illinois Freedom Alliance from the Illinois Sheriffs Association, which also opposed the assault weapons ban.

Now, this has been tweaked to just be, you know, young people, 18 and younger sponsors are hoping to have updated version of the bill ready to go either in the veto session this fall, perhaps in January.

Certainly a lot of attention around this because of the recent school shooting in Georgia.

Also important context to know that, you know, young people dying by firearm.

Suicides is also a huge issue.

There is a Brady Center report from a few years ago that found since 2006 that's been up drastically among boys and young men at a rate far higher than the overall population.

Easy access to firearms being a huge part of that, OK?

So 30 seconds left a little bit of a partisan divide how people are going to view tonight's presidential debate.

Real quick.

I'm just going to throw this out.

You pick it up.

>> Which keeping an eye on the It's going to be the first time for many people to see Kamala Harris and this kind of a debate where she debated back in 2020.

I don't remember 2020.

>> And this, of course, is going to be one-on-one with Donald Trump and he is well known for sort of how he treated Hillary Clinton during the 2016 debates.

So there's going to be clear contrast.

I would imagine provided what got from his last debate with Joe Biden comparison in terms of how he treated.

I'm listening for Chicago attacks.

I'm always looking are you going to shot every that spotlight Thanksgiving Heather's Roenicke lumber demand of in a key.

And if you're looking for even more back story on these topics and other issues, be sure to check out our newsletter, the Daily, Chicago and you can subscribe W T Tw Dot Com Slash newsletter.

And that's our show for this Tuesday night.

Be sure to stay tuned to wt tw tonight at 8 for live coverage of the presidential debate.

And don't miss us tomorrow night at 5, 30 10, it's become a hot issue in the race for president.

The high cost of childcare and what can be done about it.

And we explore what's on the table for this year's Black restaurant week.

Now for all of us here at Chicago Brandis Friedman, thanks for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good night.

>> Closed caption was made possible by Robert a cliff and Clifford law are Chicago personal injury and wrongful