Council postpones vote on controversial ordinance addressing ‘teen takeovers’

Update 3:02 p.m.: The Chicago City Council on Wednesday postponed a vote on the measure.

CHICAGO (WGN) — The City Council is expected to vote Wednesday on using “snap” curfews to control “teen takeovers” and give Chicago police officers another option for handling unaccompanied minors.

A controversial substitute ordinance to change the city’s curfew laws, aimed at curbing “teen takeovers” at popular downtown spots, cleared the city’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday by a 10-7 vote, sending it to the full City Council.

The ordinance would allow the police superintendent to call for a “snap” curfew anywhere in the city, with a half-hour notice, if a group of 20 or more teens poses a threat to the public.

The changes to the city’s curfew laws have been debated for weeks, with the final version of the substitute ordinance putting nearly all the power to call for “snap” curfews in the hands of the police superintendent.

Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) has been trying to gather enough support to get the city’s curfew laws changed for more than a year. After two “teen takeovers” in March ended in fights and gunfire in Streeterville, he seems to have found enough votes to make a change.

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Both incidents happened before the city’s current curfew took effect, which is now 10 p.m. for those under 18 in the Central Business District.

“I know I have the votes,” Hopkins said Wednesday morning. “I have at least 30 commitments from my colleagues in the City Council. We’ll probably wind up with between 30 and 35 ‘yes’ votes to pass this.

“I’m confident that this will become law.”

Controversial measures

Many alders and community groups have expressed deep concern that the proposed substitute ordinance, if passed, would unfairly impact mostly Black and brown kids.

Others argue, however, that the implementation of a “snap” curfew will help prevent dangerous situations from happening. Supporters of the substitute ordinance say they want to avoid a potentially dangerous or deadly “teen takeover” trend. 

Hopkins and others on the Public Safety Committee say defusing large, potentially dangerous, and unpermitted teen gatherings in the city is necessary.

“What’s important is that the police think it’s an effective tool,” Hopkins said Wednesday of the proposed “snap” curfew. “And everyone from the superintendent on down to patrol officers that I’ve talked to have told me in no uncertain terms that this will be an effective tool.

“This is something they know how to use. This is something that they can use when the violence breaks out. This is something that they want and they’ve asked me for.”

An earlier version of the ordinance would’ve required both the deputy mayor and the police superintendent to approve a “snap” curfew. But the most recent version of the “snap” curfew, the one that went to the full City Council vote Wednesday, says the superintendent must only consult with the deputy mayor but doesn’t need their approval.

“It has to be the superintendent in consultation with the deputy mayor, who has determined there’s probable cause,” Ald. Samantha Nugent (39th Ward) said Tuesday.

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Chicago Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) is also sponsoring the substitute ordinance. Dowell and others point to the ordinance’s mandated consultation between CPD Supt. Larry Snelling and the deputy mayor for public safety, with checks and balances for the City Council to oversee things. 

“That is what a superintendent is supposed to do,” Dowell said. “He runs the police department.”

“We’ll have quarterly data provided to this committee on how it’s implemented and how it’s working, along with an annual meeting where we take a deeper dive,” Hopkins added.

Some alders, however, fear the proposed substitute ordinance gives too much unchecked power to CPD.

Ald. Jason C. Ervin (28th Ward) and many others on the City Council say they deeply oppose the proposed measures as they’re now written.

“I cannot support this ordinance as it stands today,” Ervin said. “This gives the police department total discretion as to when and how this will be administered.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is also against changes to the city’s curfew laws, preferring instead to continue to try to create safe spaces for teens to gather and avoid “teen takeovers” altogether.

“I do not support lowering the curfew, because there’s no evidence that lowering curfews prevents violence from happening,” Johnson said Tuesday.

The mayor and other groups have also questioned the constitutionality of the “snap” curfew.

Critics of the proposed substitute ordinance could use a parliamentary procedure to at least delay a full City Council vote. If it is passed by the full City Council, the mayor could still veto it, in which case Hopkins would need 34 votes to override the veto.