A downtown Chicago alderman is calling for an earlier teen curfew after a group attacked a Streeterville couple last Friday.
Ald. Brian Hopkins, 2nd, wants an 8 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors in the city’s central business district, he told constituents in an email. The “unprovoked and aggravated assault” that prompted his call occurred during one of many “chronic youth gatherings, which have proven to be an incubator for violent and lawless activity,” Hopkins said in the email.
“I do not believe every minor present during these recent gatherings have ill intentions,” he wrote. “But it is painfully clear that a few agitators and ring leaders have instigated violent and chaotic actions time and time again and this activity cannot be tolerated.”
Hopkins plans to introduce an ordinance in the City Council next week to enact the stricter curfew. The ordinance would include exemptions for scheduled events and commuting to work. The intention, Hopkins said, is to give police a tool to break up the large teen gatherings that he believes are increasingly common.
“We’re not trying to discourage young people from coming downtown,” Hopkins said. “We’re trying to discourage large groups from gathering with either no purpose or the purpose of engaging in mayhem or crime.”
A spokesperson for Mayor Brandon Johnson did not reply to questions about the proposed curfew. Chicago has a citywide 10 p.m. curfew for children 17 and under who are unaccompanied by a parent or guardian.
The area in which Hopkins hopes the City Council will enact a new curfew includes the Loop, River North, Streeterville and the West Loop.
In an anonymous interview with Fox 32, the couple that was attacked last Friday showed cuts, bruises and images of pulled-out hair. They were repeatedly kicked, punched, stomped on and even pepper-sprayed, they said. The woman who was attacked said she was two weeks pregnant at the time and found out afterward that she lost the baby.
Police said a group attacked the couple shortly after 9 p.m. near Grand Avenue and McClurg Court. A 14-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were arrested at the scene and each was charged with one count of misdemeanor battery, according to police. Hopkins called on the Cook County state’s attorney’s office to make the misdemeanor charges instead felony charges.
At Millennium Park, Johnson has chosen to maintain a 6 p.m. teen curfew enacted by former Mayor Lori Lightfoot, according to a city website. In May 2022, a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed in the park at a nighttime teen gathering. In April 2023, chaos broke out nearby at another so-called teen takeover.
At the time, dozens of teens attacked downtown passersby, sparking viral videos and yet another crackdown of stricter enforcement. Two teen boys were shot during the mayhem.
Johnson said in May the Millennium Park curfew is “not in line with my vision for the people of Chicago,” but did not answer when directly asked if he would change the park’s curfew policy.
Instead, Johnson highlighted his effort to expand investments aimed at giving teens safe and enriching summertime opportunities. The mayor increased funding this summer for Chicago’s primary youth employment program, One Summer Chicago, adding capacity for 4,000 young people to fill now as many as 28,000 jobs.
“The most important thing that we can do is to invest in young people. And that’s what my sole purpose is,” Johnson said.
At least one downtown alderman has some skepticism about Hopkins’ proposed curfew. Ald. Bill Conway, 34th, said he would defer to the Police Department on whether the policy is needed.
“They would be in charge of enforcing it. It seems like it’d be pretty difficult to enforce. I would have to ask them if this is a helpful tool,” Conway said. “It’s hard to see how this curfew would be helpful.”
Conway added that he does not see a reason why downtown should have an earlier curfew than other parts of the city. Chicago needs to focus on giving young people “meaningful opportunities,” he said.
jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
