Chicago City Council delays vote on curfew proposal to stop teen takeovers
Teen curfew, hemp ban among hot topics at Chicago City Council
The Chicago City Council is slated to vote on a ban on the sale of some hemp products at its Wednesday meeting.
CHICAGO - A vote on a proposal to allow curfews aimed at preventing large teen gatherings was delayed during the Chicago City Council meeting on Wednesday.
Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) has pushed for such a measure, but he introduced yet another new version of his proposal, which some aldermen expressed uncertainty over.
Hopkins agreed to delay a vote on his latest proposal.
What we know:
The details on the latest version were not entirely clear during Wednesday's meeting, but Hopkins said the measure would allow police to take into custody individuals who violate a curfew or participate in a disruptive gathering.
Hopkins said if the individual is a minor, they would not be formally arrested, but released into the custody of a parent or guardian.
These latest changes came after Hopkins had already altered his proposal that would have let Chicago police issue a temporary "time and place" curfew in any public space, but only after giving at least a 12-hour notice.
That’s a much larger notice window than the original version of Hopkins’ proposal, which would have allowed police to declare a curfew in as little as 30 minutes.
Hopkins pushed for such a proposal last year after a series of mass gatherings in and near the city’s central business district that at times turned violent.
But the previous measure received pushback from civil liberties groups like the ACLU of Illinois, and Mayor Johnson expressed deep skepticism of the plan. Johnson vetoed the original version after it earned approval from a majority of aldermen. The City Council was unable to get the three-fifths majority necessary to override that veto.
Earlier this month, the council’s Public Safety Committee approved the revised ordinance plan, but did not pass a related proposal that would allow the city to fine social media companies for failing to remove threatening posts that encourage bad behavior.