Compromise could bring new kind of curfew to Chicago streets this summer

Chicago aldermen appear to have reached a compromise when it comes to a heated debate over the city's curfew policy as so-called "teen takeovers" spark heightened concerns.

According to Chicago Ald. Brian Hopkins, who represents the downtown area, a compromise would include Chicago police being able to implement emergency curfews.

"The superintendent has full authority to decide where a curfew is needed, when it's needed, and it'll be applied in those situations. Same thing if there's a spontaneous eruption of teen activity, a teen street takeover that we didn't know was going to happen until it actually is happening. It gives the district commanders on the ground in the field at the time the ability to use this tool while it's necessary, and then after the event has been dissipated, the curfew would expire," Hopkins said.

The compromise is a shift from earlier proposals to raise the city's curfew to 8 p.m., which Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson opposed.

"This would apply anytime - 8 p.m., 6 p.m., 5 p.m. - whenever is necessary," Hopkins said. "It's driven by what's actually happening, instead of an arbitrary time on the clock, which also makes sense. It gives greater flexibility to the police."

But Ald. Andre Vasquez raised concerns over whether the new compromise would be "taking people's rights."

"How does one determine the difference between street takeovers, as we're talking about it, and a protest? How do you make a decision as to where you do it right?" he told NBC Chicago.

Chicago’s City Council was set to take up a proposal for the earlier curfew this week, which would ban teens and juveniles from being in the Downtown Central Business District after 8 p.m., two-hours earlier than the current law.

The proposal gained traction after back-to-back shootings during teen gatherings in the Streeterville neighborhood last month. On Tuesday, authorities charged a 14-year-old in one shooting that injured another teenager.

“A 14-year-old shot a 15-year-old on the streets of downtown. I don’t see how anyone could hear that and not realize we must act,” Hopkins previously said.

During the March gatherings – often referred to as “teen takeovers” – large crowds of young people gathered in Streeterville, creating chaotic scenes that twice turned violent.

Earlier in March, a tourist from Connecticut was hit by stray gunfire during a similar gathering.

“We have to stop this before it happens again,” said Deborah Gershbin of the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents, which has put its support behind the proposed earlier curfew.

“There’s exceptions for young people that work, or have a purpose,” she said. “But for teens to gather in hundreds, I don’t think that’s acceptable anywhere.”

Johnson said Tuesday that any effort to limit teens from gathering downtown would spread crowds to other neighborhoods.

“We want young people to explore every part of our city. That is their right as Chicagoans. However, the Johnson administration is deploying every tool at our disposal to ensure that large gatherings do not become violent,” a statement from City Hall said.

In an update Wednesday following news of a potential compromise, Johnson's office said conversations were "ongoing."

"As the Mayor said yesterday, he is working with Ald. Hopkins, the Chicago Police Department, and community based organizations to find solutions to this issue. Mayor Johnson is supportive of the efforts to find a compromise and looks forward to continued conversations on this important issue," his office said in a statement.

Chicago authorities recently used rideshare restrictions, known as geofencing, to limit Uber and Lyft drop-offs near advertised teen gatherings, often organized on social media.

Critics of an earlier curfew said it would cast too wide of a net, and that police are already understaffed.

“The whole issue is you've gotta give the kids something positive to do,” Jim Wales, a South Loop neighbor and member of the Grant Park Advisory Council, which opposes the curfew, said.

Wales said the city should offer positive, healthy downtown activities in parks and public spaces.

“Maggie Daley Park, with the rock climbing walls, the skating, the miniature golf,” he said. “Those are the areas we should be pushing and encouraging our youth to attend.”