Coalition to pursue second gun-trace report and pilot a community data hub

Rock Against Gun Violence Coalition leaders told members they are moving forward with two data priorities: a second gun-trace data report and a pilot program for a community data hub to consolidate public-safety information.

Councilman Willie Lightfoot, chair of the coalition, said the coalition has three top priorities this year — a resource guide, the second gun-trace report, and a new data hub — and that the mayor has expressed support for the second report. “The mayor has is very, seems to be very positive about,” Lightfoot said about executive support for the next report.

Lightfoot said the resource guide is near completion and that stakeholders are preparing to begin work on the gun-trace report. He described the data hub — variously called a data tool, lake house or data hub during discussion — as a larger undertaking that will require agreements and a pilot program to define governance and technical scope.

Lightfoot said the coalition’s data committee held a productive hybrid meeting with stakeholders and will reconvene soon to sketch a pilot framework. “At that meeting, we'll begin to start working out the framework of what it would look like to have a pilot program of this new, comprehensive, data hub,” he told members.

Septimus and other committee members described ongoing outreach to align research partners and to coordinate community-based interventions with city agencies. The coalition emphasized collaboration among groups already doing street outreach so partners do not duplicate events and so the pilot data tool can reflect operational needs.

No formal vote or binding agreement was adopted during the meeting; leaders asked members and partner organizations to forward calendars and program details to coalition staff so committees can coordinate scheduling and avoid conflicts.