Chicago City Council OKs teen ‘snap’ curfew, but Johnson says he'll veto it
Chicago City Council narrowly OKs controversial 'snap' teen curfew
A divided Chicago City Council voted to approve an ordinance to allow for temporary curfews aimed at preventing so-called "teen takeovers." But Mayor Brandon Johnson, who has opposed the idea, said he may veto it.
CHICAGO - A divided Chicago City Council voted to approve a controversial ordinance to allow for temporary curfews aimed at preventing so-called "teen takeovers," although Mayor Brandon Johnson said he will veto the measure.
The council voted 27-22 in favor of the curfew policy, but a short time after the meeting, Johnson said he would issue a rare veto.
"I will veto this ordinance because it is counterproductive to the progress that we have made in reducing crime and violence in our city," Johnson said. "It would create tensions between residents and law enforcement at a time when we have worked so hard to rebuild that trust."
Based on the vote during the meeting, supporters of the ordinance do not have the two-thirds majority needed to override a mayoral veto. Johnson has been a vocal critic of the measure.
The Debate
What they're saying:
The ordinance, pushed by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward), has been delayed multiple times after disagreements and negotiations with other aldermen and top police officials.
"These are dangerous, threatening criminal acts and they're violent," Hopkins said during Wednesday's meeting. "And it happened again last night…We had a teen gathering on the lakefront that turned violent. A police officer wound up in the hospital because he was attacked last night. If we don't pass this curfew ordinance, it's going to happen again."
Hopkins said the final version of the proposed ordinance would give the superintendent the final say on declaring a curfew in any part of the city after conferring with the mayor’s office and upon receiving information that a large teen gathering would happen. Hopkins added that teens will get ample warning to disperse before a curfew goes into effect.
The alderman pushed for a new curfew policy after multiple shootings earlier this year in the Loop and Streeterville during such teen gatherings.
The other side:
But Johnson indicated this week that he might try to stop the ordinance's approval by issuing a rare veto and reiterated that he believes the solution is more youth investment.
Other critics said the ordinance might come down disproportionately on teens from certain communities in the city while sparing others.
"We never bring up single-parent households or we never bring up the parents after Lollapalooza," said Ald. Angela Clay (48th Ward). "We never talk about ‘Who raised you?’ and ‘Why don’t you have decorum?' after Pride Fest. We never talk about people's upbringing, only when it contains young Black and brown people."
Opponents of the proposal have raised concerns about how it will be implemented and whether it will hold up legally.
The ACLU of Illinois has criticized the ordinance as a "Band-Aid" that does little to address the root causes of violence or youth participation in large gatherings.
Romya Simone, a youth leader with the organization Communities United, blasted the council for approving the measure in a statement:
"This decision shows that city council members are not willing to do the hard work and address the real issues impacting young people. The snap curfew is not going to solve the safety problems that people are concerned about, it will only lead to more cases of police abuse, infringement of teens constitutional rights, and criminalization of Black and brown youth."