joining us on Chicago tonight.

I'm Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

>> The city's plan to address a nearly billion dollar budget gap next year.

And a last minute attempt to keep a controversial gunshot detection system ShotSpotter before the contract expires.

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

The man accused of an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump appeared in a Florida courtroom.

58 year-old Ryan, Wesley Routh is being charged with 2 gun-related crimes.

It's believed he camped outside the Trump International golf course for nearly 12 hours with food and a rifle before a Secret Service agent confronted him and opened fire.

The no one was injured.

This marks the second attempt on Trump's life in as many months.

Routh is do again in court later this month.

A panel of alderman are voting to pay out nearly 15 million dollars to settle for police misconduct lawsuits.

This is after a federal jury last week ordered the city to pay 50 million dollars to a man who was wrongfully convicted and spent 10 years in prison.

Today the mayor addressed what he calls the years of, quote, bad financial decisions and poor leadership at the police department putting the city in this position.

>> Where, you know, commanders superintendents, former state attorneys, they were all involved in this ring that lead real harm against.

>> A black and brown people, you know, so it's element that we're going to have to continue to unpack because these payouts, why, frankly, are a form of reparations.

>> Members of the City Council Finance Committee today expressed concern over the continuously escalating cost of payouts for such cases.

The W T Tw News analysis shows the city paid nearly 385 million dollars in police misconduct.

Settlements.

Between 2019 2023.

In an effort to root out the culture of corruption in Chicago and Illinois.

Politics.

Federal prosecutors are offering a get out of jail free card of sorts.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois is launching a pilot program allowing some white collar nonviolent criminals.

The chance to come forward telling investigators what they know without fear of criminal prosecution.

Prosecutors say for the next 6 months, private or government workers who have participated in or know about criminal wrongdoing because of their jobs confess up, but be prepared to tell investigators everything, you know, the pilots starts just days before former Alderman Ed Burke is set to begin his prison term for corruption related charges.

But not everyone is eligible for more on who is or is not please visit our website.

In music community is mourning the death of Jackson, 5 member and rock rock and Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson.

His son's posted the news on Instagram saying, quote, Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being.

Please remember to do with our father always preached.

And that is love one.

Another.

Tito was the 3rd of 9 Jackson children, including superstars Michael and Janet.

The Jackson 5 became in 1970's sensation under the guidance of their father.

Joe, with hits like ABC.

And I'll be there.

We spoke with Tito Jackson at his childhood home in Gary, Indiana, back in 2021.

>> We're from same streets that you're from.

We have a dream.

wanted to be stars.

We worked hard to stars.

And today we compost our dreams.

You know, we've come punish them well.

So saying that being said that says that you can be anything you want just put in the work and really In this starts develop for you.

>> Jackson reportedly died of a heart attack.

He was 70 years old.

Up next, how the city's budget forecast could impact you.

Chicago's budget director joins us 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.

>> Chicago is facing a 223 million dollar budget gap this year.

But that's not all.

City is also projecting a nearly billion dollar budget shortfall in the 2025 fiscal year.

City officials have since issued a hiring freeze as well as limits to travel and some overtime in an effort to right the fiscal ship.

But there are still gaps that need to be filled.

Mayor Brandon Johnson says the challenges the city currently faces are significant.

That sacrifices will be made in the gap underscores the need for strategic decisions.

Here to talk more about those strategic decisions is and that Guzman, budget director for the City of Chicago.

Welcome to Chicago tonight.

Thank you for having So Mayor Brandon Johnson has blamed the structural problems with Chicago's finances for the projected 982 million dollar budget gap next year.

Did the Johnson administration do enough to prepare for this moment since it was predicted a year ago?

>> You know, I think that, you know, we've we've we've done a number of things since coming into One when we first got in, we have 4 months to create a budget before it had to be passed by City Council.

But since that time, January, beginning this year, we did start to look at our expenditures to better understand, you know, where our expenditures we're going also where our revenues are coming in.

We we project out month after month prepare report starts in council to public to understand how are we achieving against our budget.

so as we saw our revenue starting to come a little bit softer this year, we started to contract on our expenditures, which is why in our budget forecasts, forecast that we would at least 200 million less than what we budgeted for this year.

And that was because of what we were seeing that the revenues, one thing that we didn't anticipate that came to us a little bit later in the year was the non receipt of a very critical revenue source that we used to support our pension obligations.

And so once that became even more evident that that wasn't something that 100% knew was going to calm.

We started to restrict our expenditures even further.

One of the conversations between the city and CPS been like with regards to that pension payment that the school district has opted not to pay.

>> So, you know, we continue to have conversations with CPS of the Board of Education because as much as we commit to supporting our workers who, you know, put in their blood, sweat and tears and spent years in city service and in CPS service.

We want to make sure that we are making good on that commitment with the Board of Education, shifting away from one that's merrily control to one that's elected.

We have to start to shift toward CPS being able to support their costs independent of the city's resources.

And so those conversations have been about how do we make sure that we are working together to ensure that our our schools have the resources they need that we're talking at both the federal level and the state level in support of our colleagues at CPS to ensure that they have those resources were still in conversations.

As as I've said many times, people we still expect the payment to be made.

But at the time that the forest forecast comes out, we have to be honest about what we know at that time.

And at that time, CPS had created a budget that did not include that payment.

It for next year.

If the problem is structural, what kind of changes are necessary to prevent deficits from happening year after year?

>> I think, you know, you asked me earlier, what have we been doing since we got into office?

If we knew that this was coming?

You know, one of the things that we've been doing is really looking at department budgets really looking at how our contracts are structured, looking at what projects were in place that, you know, were approved under former administrations that we have to ask ourselves are the still important?

Are these still critical projects that have to move forward if they have to move forward if they move forward in the same way that they were originally proposed, you know, and we're also having very serious conversations about where the revenue source is that we need to support the work going forward.

The mayor has been very transparent that, you know, he's always going to be putting forth referee proposals in front of city council.

The once he thinks are necessary.

The once think reasonable to make sure that the services that the city of provides in these are critical services that the city does provide can continue on into the future.

The mayor has, you know, vowed to minimize the impact on city services and programs in the workforce.

But of course, you know, we've also expressed of the city has also expressed that sacrifices will have to be made instituting a hiring freeze citywide.

>> But how much will those steps actually help towards getting you where you need to there already You know it being very intentional about what hiring can continue through this year.

Weve immediately seen those savings every every day.

We see those savings because they are being spent on on personnel.

>> And so we work really closely with our departments to understand like what critical services and what critical needs are, what emergency needs.

We'll go unmet if we don't allow a specific position to be hired in 2.

Those are the conversations we're having directly, especially with our public safety departments.

We were.

Can talk very frequently with CPD with our Emergency Management office with our fire department to ensure that we can continue to provide those services and that we're not creating gaps for the safety of our residents.

What other solutions are immediate solutions are on the table for now.

We're looking at critical projects as well you projects that we that we doing with our space needs are do we need to move forward with changing our spaces right now and building more offices, things like that.

We're also looking at what cost that we can hedge against what energy costs seem to be higher.

How do we how do reduce our energy consumption to ensure that we can still save on those costs.

We're looking at it projects that we had no great.

you know, we wanted to make sure that those things got done, but they're coming in slower than we thought they were gonna come.

And so are those projects that are needed to move forward this year.

Can they be delayed even further but still not impact the ability to provide city services.

How long do you anticipate this hiring freeze might last and and what impact might that have on some of your department and the services they provide?

So right now the hiring freezes in place until the end of the year.

If things change with some of our revenue sources that could have an impact on whether or not the hiring freeze continues through the end of this year.

But I want to be really clear.

You know, we have to understand where our budget for next year is going to because the last thing we would want to do is to hire into position and then not have the resources to support that next year.

Even long term.

So we're having those critical conversations with our departments.

You know, what are the things that we need to have in place to make sure that we provide the basic services that we are required to provide that the city has come to expect of government and what things where, you know, we might have to delay that because our resources are not sufficient to match.

You know, our ambitions.

Now, the mayor, in this instance, he has not ruled out increasing property taxes, though he campaigned on that and saying that he would not do that.

But other than property tax increases.

>> How could the city creator generate revenue to help fill this Sure.

glad you asked that question.

So, you know, right now, you know, our main funding source for most for operations or corporate fund, our corporate find is actually supporting a lot operations that actually said on other funds as well.

And so we're looking at a number of things our fees properly calibrated to support the cost of the service that they're providing because the corporate find right now is supporting that because they're, you some of them might be a lot lower than they have not changed in 2030, years where the cost of those services have obviously changed over the last 30 years.

We're having conversations at the state level about resources and revenues that we think will help actually get us over the long term to more structural balance.

so those are the conversations that we think will have much more long-term impact to help us get to a place where our resources are meeting that the services that we provide.

And of course, you'll have to convince 26 out of 50 older people to vote in favor to support the mayor's budget in October.

Tell us a little bit about what's next and what challenges you anticipate with getting all the men on board.

Yeah, 26 is is a high bar it's it's not impossible.

But we know that they're they have ambitions.

They have desires to see nothing's happening within their words and within the city barge.

And so those are conversations that we're having right now to truly understand.

How can be a line, those ambitions with what our resources provide for.

You know, a lot of our alders are really clear about the exercise.

The really clear about the challenge and they know at the end of the day there certain things and that the city must do and has to provide because we're the only ones that provide that service.

And so I think that will focus on, you know, what is it that we're preserving within this budget that we know is critical and that your constituents look to the city to provide one of the things that we can start to continue to shift our budget to support that are also really important to the people that live in their in their words as well.

Okay, you've got your work cut out for you and that Kuzma in city of Chicago.

But director, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

Up next, last-ditch effort at City Hall to keep a controversial police tool.

We discuss the pros and cons right after this.

>> The city's contract with a gunshot detection system known as ShotSpotter is coming to a close.

And while the technologies days appear to be numbered, some city council members are making a final push to reverse Mayor Brandon Johnson's move to cancel the controversial system.

Whether the mayor agrees or not.

>> 100 million dollars for a walkie-talkie on a pole.

And the reason why they said we needed it was to reduce gun violence.

It didn't do that.

You know, it's incumbent upon all of us to make sure that the investments that we're making, they have to get at the problem.

>> Joining us, our Alderman William Hull of the 6th Ward on the city's south side.

And joining us via Zoom Alderman Peter Chico of the 10th Ward on the city's southeast side.

Alderman, thanks to you both for joining us.

You so much for having all the men she go starting with you, please.

The mayor announced this plan back in February.

What can be done at this point to prevent him from shutting down ShotSpotter?

>> We have a vote coming up and we plan on bringing to city council to include all 50 all meant to have their voice heard this shot spotter technology.

What I can say is my residents intense war have made made it clear in day one shot spotter to stay.

And when I'm talking my colleagues, the residents feel the same way.

>> Alderman hold colleague have anything to stand on here.

Can the mayor unilaterally make the call to close out shot spotter or should city council have sent Wilson open today?

This contract has expired.

Secondly, this is a political toy, in my opinion, does dangerous.

The data I reckon that I look at and are recognizing respects us that there are 2 year-old child who laid industry our bid.

bring that that near to to that mother who still does not know who the killer ease and if it wasn't for Spencer Lee, paying for the fuel bills.

Smith getting the beach worries and myself eulogizing at New Covenant represents church.

That was all I needed to know that this is not effective.

Our industry dead and a mother having to go hold her child.

So and again, is objective.

Justices objected to take guns off the street and can't repeat repeat offenders behind bars.

That's what Chicago was need.

This technology does not win to that.

Just to have an alert and someone shoot is not affected And the reason residents right now are saying keep it do whatever is necessary is because of the traumatic experiences residents have felt for years in the city of Chicago with no assistance, no support to get guns off the street, lock up those who are killing and keep repeat offenders for coming in to rise in neighborhoods.

All going go.

What recourse do you all have?

What?

What methodology can you all used to keep shot spotter around?

>> Well, let me first address my colleagues comments.

Experience matters.

I have the experience.

I'm the only member of the city council but was actually dealt with ShotSpotter was actually used that day-to-day basis.

It does work.

It does save lives.

When I was patrolling out there in the 4th district and 2, 3 o'clock in the morning.

And it's 20 below out in December and shots go off.

Let me tell you some.

Nobody is calling the police but shots by place we get there quicker.

We're able to render aid the victim and given the hospital has been more quickly shocked by does work saving lives each and every day I've seen it as police officer in the 4th district working the streets.

>> All going to go.

The mayor says that the technology in that same press conference where we just heard the sound bite earlier, he says the technology promised to cut gun violence in the city of Chicago by 50%, but that it hasn't done that and he feels like he can't continue to justify the 100 million dollars the city is spent on it thus far.

What do you say to that?

>> I say let's talk to the families of the victims who have been shot.

I have had several of them come up to me.

says the shots by debate really taking the forefront and they said we need shots.

you know Because nobody call my son or daughter was shot and shot spotter alert the place and they got in a time in hospital.

Those are real stories.

That was a real people.

And if you want to put a price tag and saving somebodys life and by all means go ahead.

But I'm not going to administration overhaul you disagree, of course, on the cost and the use shots.

3 things I disagree with.

Number one, Laura, the city's leaving write.

Why is it that when we look at Antonio, didn't Houston is trying to get out of the contract right now.

>> Portland and others have said enough is enough.

This company hasn't provided any sufficient job.

Growth has not developed a pipeline enforced things.

And again, this company's be ran out state.

And so thing that I have to say is 100 million dollar no-bid contract is bad business that this man here to from the previous administration.

When look at community policing that worked on the command, the courts, look at commander, take a look at and a branch, mostly commanders in the 6th Ward.

What we have done just GOP.

the hottest crime areas, their presence working with offices getting overtime has reduced crime.

We've seen the effectiveness and into that.

And we look at the equipment that the police need.

We need to give them effectively quickly.

We just got in helicopter as a result of again, the DNC and those are things that outdated equipment.

I do not disagree under no circumstances with my colleague.

I love him dearly about the effectiveness is as much as he showed up to scenes of also showed up to funerals 13 year-old boy a year ago that late in the street for our no one showed up.

Mother found this child and we have to come together to bury the That's all the data that I need to know that it is not as effective.

This is being sold know being 100 million dollar contract is a dangerous type of business.

Not think that this political prostitution has to stop because Chicago is not to be picked out.

And to be clear that a 13 year-old boy, the refund is a new 6 war.

There was no ShotSpotter alert.

Alarm went off but only hour later to someone show up.

And so when we talk about the effectiveness on the shot, spotter alert, consisting consistencies across the board has been a problem with Shotspotter again to sign with someone is shooting and have the community not be empowered.

>> Have the community not working with the police, have the community not involved in beat meetings.

We need to, first of all, renewed the trust with the community wants community is in power block club the time.

This shot spotter won't be the dependencies of communities because what little computer to do before the police because tired of not being respected and we see.

But Superintendent Snelling has changed that in less than a year.

Now Chicago, police say that their data shows that roughly 75% of ShotSpotter alerts have no corresponding 9-1-1, call.

So that means they're being alerted to calls that they would not have learned about through 9-1-1.

>> Does does ShotSpotter not help to bring officers to the scene faster or alert them to shootings that no one called about shot shot spotter alert.

It hour later a mother finds child that stories that are not being told consistently throughout neighborhoods that have this equipment.

Again, quite became no be no comparison to other date And again, let's have a conversation with the other 4 mayors that are reading them.

Sales of this equipment.

>> Again, to alert someone is shooting not have the evidence lock up the person with the to keep the repentant repeat offender off the streets and to make sure you to say that's the equipment that we need.

Cta is looking at using AI technology to identify sugar in gun at the same time.

And so we get to have alert systems without affected judicial system, support and empower communities is what we're looking for.

This does not do that.

And again, my question is where the jobs?

Where is the connection?

The community we assist in training and with sustainability.

That's dangerous to do without no one else other in Chico.

There's also the concern that shot spotter lends itself to the over-policing of black and brown communities.

What do you say to that?

>> I not with my experience being out there, which has that the Texas shot, the police are going to go to that location with a shot rang off it instead of going around the whole block, looking for people to stop.

They're going to go right to that location right to where ShotSpotter alerted the police officers to go.

If they see nobody out there, if you nobody out there, but that's better than them going around the block.

Looking for anybody else who were in close proximity to the shots being fired when the shots are being fired.

Without shots.

By we don't know where they come from.

And then color can say I just heard the shots go off and what direction, they don't know what directions coming from shot spotter director police officers directly the spot and one more thing responding to my colleagues time.

It's about me or it.

It seems to him.

I'm going to the funerals were trying avoid the funerals.

I haven't shot spotter set up and getting to please time in a timely manner to then called to call the ambulance and sent him to a hospital.

>> In have you been given any indication the city has been in touch with shot spotter or that shot spotter would be willing to work out some sort of a ward by Ward contract that were even possible technologically.

>> As of now, it has by I do not that.

>> Okay.

overhaul briefly.

What you know about ShotSpotter what technological alternatives right there would get like I said, we're out one CTA identify she gone.

And again, we don't want to broadcast what working on.

That's how criminals get hit.

But one I do know is when DNC K we saw discourse, but we saw safety its best.

And so I do have confidence and superintendents, not And the mayor finding the best equipment to keep Chicago the won 2 million dollar deal and the way.

Okay, you're not a fan of that.

>> I hope but all that energy go.

Thanks to both for joining us.

What you can see And to be clear, we know they did 2 of you.

Our friends get along great.

That is our show for this Monday night.

Join us tomorrow night at 5, 30 10.

A top aide in Mayor Johnson's administration apologizes for using an anti-police slur.

Our spotlight politics team on that and more.

Now for all of us here at Chicago tonight.

I'm Brandis Friedman, thank you for watching.

Stay healthy and safe and have a good night.

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