Teen curfew push could see tweaks before vote; Chicago mayor open to negotiations

CHICAGO — A downtown alderman’s push for a stricter curfew to curb “teen takeovers” could face tweaks before a vote as soon as Wednesday.

Ald. Brian Hopkins promised once again Tuesday to move forward on his bid for an 8 p.m. curfew for teens downtown, two hours earlier than the current citywide rule. But he said he’s open to tailoring the broad ordinance so it targets the chaotic gatherings he wants to stop, a move he may need to make to win City Council approval.

Negotiations in the council are ongoing, and Hopkins is confident he can win over a majority of aldermen, he said. He will look to the advice of Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling and police district commanders before agreeing to changes, he added.

“When they feel that an effective tool is on the table in front of them — may or may not be the perfect solution, but good enough — we are going to go with that,” Hopkins said. “But we’re not there yet.”

Hopkins’ push comes in the wake of two high-profile gatherings of young people in Streeterville that ended in violence. A 46-year-old tourist was shot in her arm on March 9 and a 15-year-old boy suffered bullet graze wounds three weeks later.

The so-called teen takeovers, fueled by social media posts, have sprung up in the city during early warm-weather weekends. They have sometimes ended in tragedy.

Johnson’s administration deserves a “good grade” for its handling of three takeovers last weekend that had been advertised online, including one gathering planned at Millennium Park, Hopkins said.

“A significant number of teens did get off the Red Line and went there looking for the party, and they didn’t see it,” Hopkins said. “They saw a large group of police officers standing at the ready, and they saw an even larger group of community-based violence interrupters, counselors, Chicago Public Schools staff, people ready to greet them and tell them you don’t want to do this here.”

Johnson said Tuesday that police prevented another takeover and responded to the third that emerged in Hyde Park, where officers made “a handful of arrests.”

“We want our young people to be able to explore every part of our city. That is their right as Chicagoans,” Johnson said at a City Hall news conference. “But we cannot allow gatherings to turn violent and put our young people and our entire communities at risk of gun violence.”

Asked where he stands on Hopkins’ ordinance, the mayor pushed back on the proposal’s current downtown focus. “Diverting the problem somewhere else, that doesn’t reflect my values,” he said.

But like Hopkins, he signaled his openness to negotiations, a softening of Johnson’s stance on the idea compared to his past comments. Without specifying what in the curfew ordinance might change, he said Hopkins had been “amenable” to some suggested alterations and added that “the table is open and we are discussing ideas.”

Hopkins said the mayor did not appear to oppose his efforts.

“He’s aware it’s happening, and he’s letting it happen,” the downtown alderman said. “What his ultimate decision will be, I won’t speak for him, I don’t know, but I know he’s just letting this play out.”

Hopkins said he may bring his current ordinance up for a vote Wednesday, try to force a vote on an amended version or send the amended version back to City Council committee, where it could be more fully vetted by aldermen.

Also Tuesday, Community Safety Deputy Mayor Garien Gatewood said nine companies had applied for a new city gunshot detection technology contract by last Friday’s deadline.

Johnson’s administrations opened the request last fall after the mayor axed the ShotSpotter acoustic gunshot detection system long used by police. The ShotSpotter shutdown, which Johnson promised in his mayoral campaign, rankled aldermen and sparked months of legislative battles over the emergency response tool.

Gatewood confirmed that ShotSpotter’s parent company, SoundThinking, was one of the companies that made a proposal. Company officials have said since shortly after Johnson ended their earlier deal that they would be among those vying for the new contract. The company will not be automatically rejected despite Johnson’s past opposition, Gatewood said.

“I’m not standing out against anyone or holding any particular organization above another,” Gatewood said.

The deputy mayor declined to discuss specific proposals, but said the process of picking from among them is already underway.

“The goal is to expedite it,” he said. “To get something to continue on the downward trend of crime that we have seen, the downward trends of violence that we’ve seen.”

According to CPD, murders are down 24% through early April compared with the same time last year, while robberies, aggravated batteries, burglaries, felony thefts and motor vehicle thefts have also seen large drops.

Asked if new technology would be put in place by the summer, Johnson didn’t answer directly. Instead, he praised his broad efforts to improve public safety, touting work to add detectives, bring in new police helicopters, expand city-run mental health care and bolster community violence prevention work.

“We’re already seeing a decline without technology,” he said. “If it were just one thing that could make us all safe, I believe the city of Chicago would have purchased that before I became mayor.”

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