Streeterville

Downtown City Council members pushing for 8 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors

CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling: "I do believe in a curfew."

NBC Universal, Inc.

Multiple Chicago City Council members representing the city's downtown area are calling for an 8 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors in the Central Business District, which would include all of Streeterville.

Ald. Brian Hopkins said in a letter to his residents, "The earlier curfew seeks to apply to any minor, regardless of activity, from being in the Central Business District without the supervision of an adult. If enacted by the full city council, this curfew will allow the Chicago Police Department to apprehend and cite those who are in violation.
I do not believe every minor present during these recent gatherings have ill intentions, but it is painfully clear that a few agitators and ring leaders have instigated violent and chaotic actions time and time again and this activity cannot be tolerated."

Fellow downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly of the city's 42nd Ward agrees with Hopkins.

"I fully support Ald. Hopkins' curfew proposal and am also calling for a fixed police post of officers at Illinois and New Street, directly across from the AMC River East... all summer."

Streeterville residents told NBC Chicago that the area near the AMC movie theater is notorious for teen gatherings.

"We love the youth, we are for the youth, but not the chaos you know? It’s alright to come down and hang out but the extra stuff, nah," resident Ryan Miller said. "There’s a lot going on, there’s bowling and arcades and stuff but it’s gotten a little hostile as of lately."

CPD Supt. Larry Snelling also iterated his support of a curfew on Thursday.

“We know there are young people who want to enjoy downtown. We want them to be able to do that, but want them to do it safely," he said. “I do believe in a curfew, I do believe that very young people should not be out at all hours of the night unaccompanied."

If enacted by the full City Council, the curfew would allow officers to arrest or ticket those in violation. Snelling said he cannot yet comment on enforcement without knowing more details and nuances to the potential curfew.

"I'm willing to take a look at that just to ensure our youth are safe and that our citizens are safer [and] that we don’t have youth going down in groups and they get in fights and there are attacks on other people," he said. "So whatever we can do to stop those things from happening in a way that doesn’t intrude on peoples' rights, we want to do."

Mayor Brandon Johnson's office did not return our request for comment on whether or not he would support a curfew. However, during a news conference two weeks ago, he commented on the potential for curfew changes.

"We have to make sure we’re keeping people safe, but we also have to make sure we’re not placing restrictions that ultimately lead to a deeper level of frustration," he said.

Curfews have previously been enacted by Chicago mayors, with former mayors Rahm Emanuel and Lori Lightfoot enacting them in 2014 and 2022, respectively.

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