🚨 Shotspotter debate rages on

🍯 Happy Thursday! Shana Tova to those celebrating the Jewish New Year.

• ☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 75

Situational awareness: Early voting in Chicago starts today at the Chicago Board of Elections Offices (69 W. Washington, 6th Floor) and its Supersite (191 N. Clark).

Today's newsletter is 947 words — a 3.5-minute read.

As the City Council debated the future of ShotSpotter last month, some alders warned that every shooting occurring after the dismantling of the gunshot detection system would raise questions about whether it could have made a difference.

Why it matters: Those questions are already sparking debates among public officials, marking the beginning of what's likely to be months of finger-pointing over the controversial deactivation of the tech on Sept 23.

Driving the news: On Tuesday, Ald. David Moore suggested that 19-year-old Sierra Evans, who was found shot to death Saturday in the 9500 block of South Avenue N, "could have possibly survived" if ShotSpotter had been operating in the area.

• Police say the 911 call came in around 9 am, nine hours after Moore says ShotSpotter detectors picked up the shots at the scene but did not relay them to CPD because the system had been deactivated.

Deputy mayor for community safety Garien Gatewood responded: "This is not about politics. This is about how we support families and communities, and perpetuating their pain for political gain is extremely insensitive and immoral."

What they're saying: Wednesday, Moore took umbrage at the implication that he and Evans' family were seeking political gain, saying in a statement Gatewood "needs to retract his statement and issue an apology."

Between the lines: Like most of the City Council's Black Caucus, Moore has vigorously supported retaining ShotSpotter until the city can find a replacement technology. The city is seeking bids for alternatives.

• "Everyone has the right to be safe, and all tools should be on the table," he said. "What's political is removing one of those important tools because of a campaign promise."

What's next: The mayor's office tells Axios that Gatewood was not implying the Evans family was speaking out for political gain, only Ald. Moore.

• The blame game appears far from over.

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More Chicagoans are grabbing breakfast and lunch at fast food spots compared to last year, according to a new report by Toast, which analyzed ordering data from more than 120,000 restaurants nationwide.

Why it matters: The shift is a positive sign for local businesses that rely on office worker traffic, which slumped during the pandemic.

State of play: Chicago regained nearly 70% of its pre-pandemic office occupancy this summer, based on foot traffic tracked through mobile devices by start-up Placer.ai.

Zoom in: Breakfast spending at Chicago's quick-service spots (fast-food restaurants) grew by 6% between the spring of 2023 and this summer, while lunch spending rose 3%.

• At the same time, dinner and late-night fast food spending dropped by 1% and 3%, respectively.

Zoom out: The trend mirrors other cities where fast breakfast spending also rose, including Richmond, Virginia, (15%), Philadelphia (8%), and Columbus, Ohio, (7%).

Food inflation: The report also tracked national data on rising lunch prices. It found the biggest increase in tacos (5.9% to $5.81) and the smallest in hot dogs (1.9% to $6.32) and salads (2.7% to $11.42).

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America's gender split is turning into a regional rivalry: men in the West, women in the East.

• Chicago (like the Midwest) is right in the middle.

Women most heavily outnumbered adult men in Baltimore, Atlanta, Philadelphia and New York when considering metro areas with more than 1.5 million residents.

• One possible explanation is mass incarceration, which has removed hundreds of thousands of men from Black neighborhoods.

Read the full story

Flexible work just got better for over 7 million people.

Here's why: Uber's new features are designed to help make the driver and courier experience safer, fairer and easier.

• One feature, Record My Ride, allows drivers to record trips with their smartphone instead of investing in a dashcam.

👩‍🚒 More than two dozen Chicago area firefighters are assisting with search and rescue efforts near Asheville, North Carolina, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. (Daily Herald)

🐕 The Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago is taking in dogs displaced by Hurricane Helene. (CBS 2)

✈️ The FAA found no "significant safety issues" in a review of United Airlines after a string of incidents earlier this year. (Reuters)

🦵Bears rookie punter Tory Taylor was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. (Sun-Times)

Chicago Exhibition Weekend (CXW) kicks off Thursday, celebrating both the established and burgeoning art scene.

Why it matters: CXW is focused on exposing artists and galleries in neighborhoods beyond the gallery district in River North and aims to make the art world less intimidating and more interactive.

Flashback: Abby Pucker, founder of Gertie, started CXW last year to encourage "people to both celebrate the spaces they know and love as well as get out of their comfort zone a bit and discover new arts destinations throughout the city."

If you go: The schedule includes art walks around Andersonville and West Town, arts and crafts for families in Lincoln Park, and film screenings in Bronzeville and Streeterville.

• Artists have also created curated routes through neighborhoods.

The intrigue: CXW partners with EXPO CHICAGO, the city's long-running art fair that draws international galleries and artists to Chicago every spring.

• Pucker says CXW differs from EXPO as it takes place citywide rather than in one venue.

Dig in: Some events are free but guests need to RSVP. Others are ticketed through Gertie's membership program.

The vibe: On Saturday night, the Driehaus Museum will turn into a Night Bazaar Art Market, with work by local artists for sale.

All this week we've embarked on an epic journey to name the most annoying intersection in Chicago.

• We are down to two horrible choices.

The intrigue: North/Damen/Milwaukee beat Diversey/Damen/Clybourn by a handful of votes to move to the championship.

State of play: The two final intersections are relatively close to each other, making this a Wicker Park/Bucktown showdown.

The final: Armitage/Ashland/Elston vs. North/Damen/Milwaukee.

• This matchup inspired a heated discussion on The Mincing Rascals podcast and Eric Zorn pointed out that Armitage/Ashland/Elston is "not even a proper six corners."
• Vote here. The poll is open until 4pm.

Uber aims to be the best platform for flexible work.

The strategy: Continuous improvements to the driver and courier experience.

How it's done: Drivers nationwide can now see enhanced rider verification, record rides from their phones, hold riders more accountable and more.

See what's new.

Edited by Lindsey Erdody and copy edited by Rob Reinalda.

🤷‍♂️ Justin is confused by the Portillo's commercial running in Chicago right now. It shows you close-ups of food while playing restaurant noise in the background. Then you hear the worker say "Number 9! Number 9! Your order is ready." Huh? Anyone who has been to Portillo's knows they rhyme their orders. "Number 9! Number 9! Your order is on time!" So why change it for the commercial? Weird.

📺 Monica loves the Italian HBO show "My Brilliant Friend" with such moving performances by its young actors.

🧸 Carrie will definitely be following Fat Bear Week.

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