City Council appears close to deal on amending teen curfew policy

CHICAGO (WGN) — The City Council appeared Wednesday to be close to a deal on a new curfew policy for minors following gatherings downtown that have turned violent.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) said he’d struck a deal with his colleagues to give the city’s police superintendent and the local district commander the power to implement a teen curfew in an area when and where it’s needed. It could take effect at any time, but would only apply to a certain neighborhood.

The alderman tried to force a vote on a plan to lower the teen curfew in the Central Business District from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. following a series of so-called “teen takeover” events but backed down in favor of a deal to expand police powers.

“We just had a situation where the teens were planning a teen takeover of Millenium Park at 5 p.m. Now it turns out that didn’t happen, but if it did happen, under my original ordinance we wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it,” he explained. “Under this ordinance the superintendent can say, ‘We have a situation developing here, and it’s 5 p.m., we’re declaring a curfew for unaccompanied minors at that location.'”

The existing curfew was put in place three years ago during the Lori Lightfoot administration.

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“My original curfew ordinance only applied to downtown. I’m a alderman that represents downtown, I had a problem in my community I wanted to take care of it,” Hopkins said. “But since that time many of my colleagues have approached me and said, ‘What about my neighborhood? We’ve had similar situations and we could use a tool like this as well.’ So we need to be a bit more flexible in the approach.”

Hopkins said engaging the police superintendent and district commanders gives them the ability to apply the curfew when and where it’s needed.

“That makes sense to me,” he said.  

Other alders were skeptical of the plan. Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) said he wants to have a hearing on the compromise where police can share their needs.

“Officers have tools in place and rules that they can follow. What does a curfew add to that situation?” he said. “How do you determine the difference between a street takeover and a protest? Are you then taking away somebody’s right to actually have freedom of speech?”

Teens sometimes do gather downtown late at night but usually during the summer months. Incidents this spring has raised concerns. A 46-year-old tourist and a 15-year-old boy were hit by gunfire at two different teen gatherings in Streeterville last month. Charges have been filed against teens in both incidents.

Mayor Brandon Johnson has expressed opposition to changing the curfew but has been working with alders to address teen gatherings at night. 

There were 539 curfew violations citywide last year, down more than 75 percent compared to 2018, WGN Investigates found.