Chicago’s City Council could take up a proposal for an earlier curfew this week that would ban teens and juveniles from being in the Downtown Central Business District after 8 p.m., two-hours earlier than the current law.
The proposal is gaining traction after back-to-back shootings during teen gatherings in Streeterville last month. On Tuesday, authorities charged a 14-year-old in one shooting that injured another teenager.
“A 14-year-old shot a 15-year-old on the streets of downtown. I don’t see how anyone could hear that and not realize we must act,” 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins said, who is leading the push for an earlier curfew.
During the March gatherings – often referred to as “teen takeovers” – large crowds of young people gathered in Streeterville, creating chaotic scenes that twice turned violent.
Earlier in March, a tourist from Connecticut was hit by stray gunfire during a similar gathering.
“We have to stop this before it happens again,” said Deborah Gershbin of the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, which has put its support behind the proposed earlier curfew.
“There’s exceptions for young people that work, or have a purpose,” she said. “But for teens to gather in hundreds, I don’t think that’s acceptable anywhere.”
The proposal does not have support from Mayor Brandon Johnson, who said Tuesday that any effort to limit teens from gathering downtown would spread crowds to other neighborhoods.
“We want young people to explore every part of our city. That is their right as Chicagoans. However, the Johnson administration is deploying every tool at our disposal to ensure that large gatherings do not become violent,” a statement from City Hall said.
Chicago authorities recently used rideshare restrictions, known as geofencing, to limit Uber and Lyft drop-offs near advertised teen gatherings, often organized on social media.
Critics of an earlier curfew say it casts too wide of a net, and that police are already understaffed.
“The whole issue is you’ve gotta give the kids something positive to do,” Jim Wales, a South Loop neighbor and member of the Grant Park Advisory Council, which opposes the curfew, said.
Wales said the city should offer positive, healthy downtown activities in parks and public spaces.
“Maggie Daley Park, with the rock climbing walls, the skating, the miniature golf,” he said. “Those are the areas we should be pushing and encouraging our youth to attend.”
Ald. Hopkins plans to introduce the proposal in City Council Wednesday.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( City Council set to debate earlier teen curfew after shootings during large gatherings )
Also on site :
- A solar storm could hit Earth tomorrow. Here’s how it could affect you
- Is the Supreme Court About to Make Police Violence Much Worse?
- The Genius Tofu Trick We Wish We’d Known About Sooner