CHICAGO (WLS) — 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.
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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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