After large crowds of teenagers descended on downtown Chicago this past weekend, leading to a massive police response, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot disputed the notion that what happened amounted to mayhem.
Shootings were reported amid gatherings both days, with one that left a 14-year-old boy injured near 31st Street Beach Friday and a second that sent two teens to the hospital Saturday in the Loop.
In a tweet, Ald. Pat Dowell, of the city's 3rd Ward, described the situation as mayhem.
"The mayhem happening downtown and at the 31st St. Beach is appalling," she said. "No other community abdicates parental responsibility for their children. None. Until parents collectively take back control of their homes - nothing will change."
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However, Mayor Lori Lightfoot disagreed.
"The vast majority of the young people that came downtown came downtown because it was a great weather and an opportunity to enjoy the city," the mayor said Monday, in part. "...There are a few that came with different intentions...and they will be dealt with."
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Mayor-Elect Brandon Johnson was out of public view Monday, but in a statement Sunday said he does not condone the destructive activity and added it is not constructive to demonize youth who have been otherwise starved of opportunities.
"Issues are not new, you can let look at the news headlines going back 15, 20 years, you see that consistently whether it's at a beach, whether it's downtown, there will be times when youth come together and congregate," said Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa of the city's 35th Ward.
Other aldermen, however, would like to see the city's curfew enforced.
"Curfew is the law, enforce it, especially if we know that we have individuals who are trying to violate the law, both in terms of what they're organizing as well as what they're trying to push the youth to do," said Ald. Ray Lopez, who represents the city's 15th Ward.
Ald. Gilbert Villegas, of the city's 36th Ward, meanwhile, said he's disappointed in the Chicago Police Department.
"I think that they just really allowed the youth to run around, there wasn't really any type of order," he said.
Another City Council member, Ald. James Cappelman, a former social worker, noted "there's many ways of tackling this, and certainly we want to look at what the police can do to help, but if we don't address the underlying core issues, it's going to get worse."
