By ASN News Editorial Desk
NEWS FLASH
CHICAGO (CHICAGO URBAN DAILY)— Chicago voters said yes — to everything. Every advisory question on the city ballot passed Tuesday, and none of them was close.
The biggest number belonged to the federal-compensation question: nearly 85 percent of voters said Chicago should seek repayment from Washington for costs tied to federal immigration enforcement operations. Gunshot detection drew 72.6 percent yes. A permanent festival and outdoor event space passed with 67.6 percent — the closest of the bunch, with nearly one in three voters saying no.
Voters also backed a millionaire tax to fund K-12 education and penalties on vacant or underdeveloped properties to fund public schools, both by wide margins.
Here is the part that belongs next to every one of those numbers: all of these questions are advisory. None of them changes a law, spends a dollar, or binds anybody. They record what voters think — and now it is up to City Hall and Springfield to decide what to do with that message.
The gunshot-detection vote is the one to watch. Mayor Brandon Johnson ended the city’s ShotSpotter contract in September 2024, and Ald. Marty Quinn, who put the question on the ballot, has called the mayor’s recently announced detection pilot a stalling tactic. Now nearly three in four voters have told the city to bring the technology back.
These are unofficial results, with 1,212 of 1,291 precincts reporting. Mail ballots can still arrive through November 17, so the numbers will move — but margins this wide are unlikely to flip.
Stay tuned to Chicago Urban Daily as the results become official and City Hall responds.
Reported by Chicago Urban Daily News. Visit chicagourbandailynews.com for updates.
