CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago City Council is expected to vote on a curfew designed to prevent so-called “teen takeovers.”
Some youth leaders are encouraging city leaders to vote “no.”
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Advocates of the debated ordinance claim they have secured enough votes for its passage, though it remains uncertain whether Mayor Brandon Johnson will choose to veto it.
Johnson has been a vocal critic of the proposed ‘snap curfew,’ which would empower Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, in collaboration with the city’s Deputy Mayor of Public Safety, to impose a last-minute curfew aimed at breaking up teen gatherings in the city.
As the City Council prepares to decide on the ordinance in its Wednesday meeting, various youth organizations are urging council members to reject the proposal.
Alderman Brian Hopkins says he believes he has the 30 votes necessary for the ordinance to pass, while Johnson says leaders should be focusing their attention on youth investment in the city.
“The intent of this ordinance is to prevent teen trends. How long does it take to prevent a teen trend? However long it takes. The more opportunity we have to prevent it, the better off it is. And that’s what the superintendent is going to do,” said Public Safety Committee Chair and 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins. “We’re certainly not going to do this for every time we think teens might be gathering. It’s a relatively high bar.”
“But you want to give the police the power to be able to issue a curfew as it wishes, instead of giving the city of Chicago the power to actually invest in people? What sense does that make? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a sloppy form of governance,” Johnson said.
If the ordinance were to pass, but the mayor vetoes it, it would then require 34 votes from council to override the mayor’s veto.
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