Prioritize Evidence-Based Data in ShotSpotter Decision — Alexandra Nehme
The vast majority of gunshots detected by ShotSpotter and followed up by a first responder yield no evidence to confirm that a crime has taken place – no 911 calls, witnesses, victims, or shell casings. Are these ShotSpotter alerts successes, or are they failures, reports of a gunshot that are akin to the ambiguous noise of a tree that may have fallen in an empty forest? The Chicago Police Department (CPD) deems these alerts successful; a ShotSpotter failure, for the CPD, is counted only when the CPD itself reports a mistaken incident to ShotSpotter via email. Using this methodology, the CPD indicated that ShotSpotter had a 99.6% accuracy for identifying gunshots in 2023.
More Care, Less Intervention in U.S. Maternal Healthcare — Chinara Wyke
By promoting a highly medicalized birth model, we discourage self-advocacy among mothers, leaving pregnant women vulnerable to unnecessary or inappropriate interventions. Our healthcare system also renders childbirth to be extremely expensive, costing an average of $18,865 per birth (excluding prenatal care). These vast expenses partially emanate from centering care at private medical facilities. One ramification of the high costs around birth is that socioeconomic and racial disparities are reinforced: accessing prenatal care becomes burdensome for those with limited resources and poor transportation options.
Surveillance for What? Public Safety and Smart Policing in Chicago — Ndidi Opara
These surveillance technologies provoke a law enforcement reaction to crime alerts but do not seem to help much in preventing crime. Carjackings in Chicago decreased after the network of ALPRs was expanded in 2016 until 2020, but have since risen to rates higher to what they were in 2016. While gun violence has decreased to pre-pandemic levels, rates of victimization and shootings remain at historic highs. In order to accelerate crime reduction, and effectively stop people from worrying about the “what-ifs,” CPD should use these technologies to take a preventative approach to crime; currently, the modern equipment seems to have little value in deterring crime.
Improving Mental Health to Reduce Incarceration — Mollie Kessler
States with more funding for community mental health programs report lower incarceration rates for individuals with mental illness. A study conducted in California showed that every $1 spent on community mental health services saves around $6 through reduced police interventions, emergency room visits, and jail time. Wisconsin saw a 10% drop in arrests among participants in its crisis intervention and community mental health programs. Another example comes from San Antonio’s Restoration Center, founded in 2008, which provides detox services and short-term mental health treatment, complemented with long-term care referrals. The jail population in San Antonio has decreased by 20%, saving taxpayers over $10 million annually.
Narrowing Socioeconomic Gaps: Increased Funding for Early Education — Daniela Estrada
In addition to economic returns, early education has been found to reduce troublesome behavioral issues. An Australian structured social-emotional learning program offered to first graders lowered problem behaviors such as aggression, anxiety, and hyperactivity, demonstrating that appropriate training can support better self-regulation and conflict resolution skills. More generally, ECE contributes to an overall reduction in crime rates, increased high school graduation rates, and higher lifetime earnings, as students transition into adulthood.
Can Cities Give Migrants Sanctuary? — Alejandro Sigui
Sanctuary cities prohibit local law officers from assisting with immigration law enforcers. Nonetheless, since immigration law is federally enforced, sanctuary cities like Chicago cannot offer full protection to undocumented residents. As a result, even long-term resident migrants like Maria can still be uprooted and deported.
Chicago’s Metra Is Stuck in the Past: It’s Time for a Future — Jonah Herrera-Dodd
Chicagoans have never gotten their money’s worth from Metra. Singapore’s world-class Rapid Transit network transported 1.3 billion passengers with a budget of just under $4 billion USD last year, equating to about $0.34 in expenses per passenger transported. Paris, Tokyo, and other rail-based cities offer similar numbers. With its 1 billion dollar budget this year, Metra conducted just 32 million passenger trips, spending $32.12 of taxpayer funds for each trip it conducted.
Trans Rights Today, Your Rights Tomorrow: The Unspoken Agenda of Project 2025 — Christina Ortega Martinez
Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people comprise only 0.6% of the U.S. population, but Project 2025 would have you believe that ‘transgender ideology’ is an existential threat to the very fabric of American life. Fear-mongering about a vulnerable minority group can admittedly prove to be a viable, albeit cruel, political strategy. But if history is any indication, when one scapegoat falls, the hunt for the next begins.
Chicago Needs to Rework its Approach to Mexican Independence Day Celebrations — Kiana Carbajal
Ensuring the success of this event is essential for reminding Mexican residents – and all other residents – that they are welcome and honored in Chicago. El Grito and Mexican Independence Day are annual opportunities for Mexican residents to commemorate their culture and history. Caravans, too, are a method for Mexican residents to gather and see the presence and impact of the Mexican community in the city they call home.
Should We Keep Selective Enrollment Public Schools? — Chritina Gao
Admission exams are not the problem and eliminating them is not the solution. The long running, rampant problem is underfunded and under-resourced schools that have failed their students long before high school. Without the proper investment in educators, in parents, and in students themselves, removing an admissions exam serves as a performative but ineffective gesture to address the striking issues of segregation and academic achievement gaps.
Breaking the Grass Ceiling: Building Equity in Chicago’s Cannabis Industry — Lisa Wang
Chicago can take several steps to address these inequities and ensure the cannabis industry lives up to its potential as a driver of social and economic justice. One key measure is creating additional equity licenses specifically for individuals disproportionately affected by cannabis prohibition. These licenses should offer significantly reduced application fees for applicants who meet specific criteria.
Data Gaps Worsen Life Gaps: A Critique of the Healthy Chicago Survey — Raina Grace
While public health failures have always existed in Chicago, COVID-19 drew specific public attention to the lack of transparency and the pandemic’s disproportionate impact on vulnerable communities. In 2022, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office stopped publishing data on COVID-19 outbreaks, concealing crucial information about the virus’s impact on vulnerable populations.
Empowering Inclusive Education in CPS with AI Tutoring — Megan Quigg
AI is revolutionizing education by leveraging real-time student data to enhance both teaching and learning. It works by analyzing details like how long a student spends on a question, how often they access help, and their overall performance, to create a “student model” that helps predict future performance and identifies the most effective teaching strategies. These models create personalized learning tracks, such as customized practice problems, that are tailored to each student’s current understanding and areas of struggle.
Mobilize Chicago’s South Side via the Metra Electric Vero Ramos Kuzuhara (January 15, 2024)
Chicago has a transit access problem. If you go to the North Side, you’ll find there are 55 CTA train stations (“L” stops) for the 25 community areas that make up the region. A few miles down in the South Side, you’ll find there are just 29 CTA train stations for its 42 community areas; 25 of those areas have no stations at all. This discrepancy in rail service leaves thousands of South Side residents without the easy, reliable rail access North Siders can take for granted. An obvious, albeit partial, solution lies in the existing Metra Electric (ME) line, which offers a much-needed track – figuratively and literally – to improving transit access in Chicago.
Fighting Crime or for the University’s Attention? Yoohan Ko (January 15, 2024)
My feeling of being neglected by the University with respect to my experience with crime near campus certainly didn’t imbue a rosy perception of the administration’s concern for my well-being. While its current efforts to market the University’s safety programs are crucial to promoting various crime mitigation initiatives, improving communication and transparency between the administration and its community will instill greater trust and reassurance.