Chicago City Council committee to take up curfew ordinance to address downtown teen takeovers
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CHICAGO (WLS) — Teen takeovers are a growing concern as summer approaches.

A Chicago City Council committee will consider a curfew to fight the unruly crowds at a meeting Wednesday.

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The ordinance would give Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling the power to declare a ‘snap’ curfew when a mass teen gathering occurs, but not everyone is on board with that idea.

Led by 2nd Ward Alderman Brian Hopkins, who is also the Public Safety Committee chair, 31 aldermen have signed onto the proposed ordinance.

RELATED: Chicago police use new tactics in Streeterville to prevent violence during ‘teen takeovers’

This all comes after a large show of force from Chicago police earlier this month to deter a planned teen takeover in Streeterville.

Snelling says they are working out how impacted communities would be notified about curfews while also using intelligence to deter large gatherings in advance.

Superintendent Snelling says he’d be cautious about implementing the curfew tool if it’s passed while Mayor Brandon Johnson has been reluctant to give police these powers.

“Our police officers are dedicated to keeping everyone sale in this city and if that means that this would be a tool that could help us get there, then I would utilize that tool, but we would do it constitutionally,” Superintendent Snelling said.

“So this is about keeping people safe,” Mayor Johnson said. “I brought people together to come with a plan that ensures maximum safety and, you know, we’ll see what the product ultimately lends itself to be.”

SEE ALSO: Compromise reached in City Council on curfew amid teen takeovers; vote expected next month

A coalition of justice and civil rights groups even sent a letter to City Council members opposing the curfew.

Wednesday’s meeting begins at 10 a.m. If passed it’ll go before the full City Council, next week.

Forty American mayors and police chiefs met in Chicago on Monday to discuss the future of public safety.

The conference was held by the United States Conference of Mayors organization.

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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and police Superintendent Larry Snelling hosted dozens of public leaders at the J.W. Marriott downtown.

During the meeting, mayors and police chiefs talked about what practices have helped reduce crime in each of their cities.

Johnson and Snelling spoke about the rolling curfews placed in some Chicago neighborhoods in an effort to reduce teen violence.

A compromise curfew ordinance could face its first test this week during a City Council committee meeting on Wednesday.

The aim is to help police curb teen takeovers that have caused problems in several parts of the city.

Johnson still has reservations, but Snelling said it’s a tool that will help with public safety.

Johnson said his team is working on the compromise legislation, but he made it clear Monday he’s not a fan of curfews because he doesn’t believe they solve the problem they are meant to address.

Chicago police used a major show of force earlier this month to deter a planned teen takeover in Streeterville. A revised curfew ordinance in the works would give police the power to impose snap curfews, wherever and whenever needed, to prevent takeovers that involve 20 or more people.

“Chicago Police Department and our police officers are dedicated to keeping everyone safe in this city. And if that means that this would be a tool that could help us get there, then I would utilize that, too, but we would do it constitutionally,” Snelling said Monday.

Snelling said language is being worked out for how police would notify impacted communities. But the draft ordinance also would allow police to impose preventative curfews based on intelligence about planned gatherings.

“We want to prevent young teens who are coming down to wreak havoc on the city, to not form up,” Snelling said.

Despite the fact that an earlier curfew for unaccompanied minors has been effective at preventing teen takeovers in Millennium Park, Johnson remains skeptical.

“So, this is about keeping people safe. I brought people together to come with a plan that ensures maximum safety. And, you know, we’ll see what that product ultimately looks like,” Johnson said.

A coalition of justice and civil rights groups sent a letter to City Council members opposing the revised curfew, saying it won’t work and is discriminatory.

“We’re talking about young people, who some people don’t want in particular kinds of neighborhoods in the city. That’s what really is at the core of this,” said Ed Yohnka, with the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.

But after two recent takeovers resulted in shootings, Alderman Brian Hopkins says something has to be done to further empower police.

“Frankly, I just don’t see how anyone can say we should look the other way and not do anything when 200 teenagers with no adult supervision take over a part of the city,” said Hopkins, 2nd Ward alderman and chairman of the Public Safety Committee.

If the new curfew proposal passes out of the Public Safety Committee this Wednesday, Alderman Hopkins says it would go before the full City Council next week, and he already had 31 alders signal their support for it.

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