Mayor Brandon Johnson is asking businesses to offer up new violent crime response tools just as his administration ends the ShotSpotter police technology deal, and the controversial outgoing vendor intends to throw its hat in the ring to continue operating in Chicago.

The mayor hopes to pressure Springfield into fully funding Chicago Public Schools. There's no guarantee it will work, and his relationship with Gov. JB Pritzker already is strained.

The embattled Chicago Public Schools chief came to his own defense today for the first time since reports surfaced that the mayor had asked him to resign, bringing the public showdown to a boiling point.