With summer-like temperatures in the Chicago area to finish the work week, city officials are preparing for the possibility of large teen gatherings after similar incidents last month turned violent.
The preparations have left some nearby residents confused when they saw a fence go up around Ogden Park in Streeterville Thursday before it was taken down Friday.
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WATCH HEREAccording to 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins, the fence was taken down so nearby construction debris could be cleared from the area.
Hopkins, a longtime proponent of an earlier downtown curfew for teens, withdrew an ordinance in city council earlier this week that would have moved the teen curfew from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m.
In place of the ordinance, a compromise was reached that would allow police to invoke a "snap curfew" at any time or location when large groups of teens are posing "a danger to themselves or the community."
"At any time, the police commander or superintendent can take that tool out of the toolbox and say we need it for the next two, two-and-a-half hours, four hours, six, whatever the case may be," Hopkins said.
A rumored gathering last week planned at Millennium Park never materialized, though a group of peacekeepers remained on hand in an effort to thwart any conflicts that may have arisen.
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"Ninety percent of the kids that come there, they are coming to escape the trauma in their neighborhood. The other 10 [percent] are just being children, and they don't think rationally. They think a little impulsive," Rodney Phillips of the Crisis Prevention and Response Unit said.
Due to rumors of a potential gathering in Streeterville, Chicago's Office of Emergency Management and Communications will geofence the area bounded by North Columbus, North McClurg, East Grand and East North Water from rideshare apps from 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., according to the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents.
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SIGN UP If no gatherings occur, the geofence will be lifted early, the group said.
