CHICAGO (WLS) – Mayor Lori Lightfoot joined Chicago officials and community leaders on Monday morning to outline changes in the city’s curfew and add a new curfew to Millennium Park for unaccompanied minors.
The changes come in response to the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy near Bobcheto on Saturday night, when large crowds of hundreds of rebellious teenagers took over Millennium Park and began flooding the streets.
The Cook County Judicial Service identified him as Seandel Holiday. Marin Richardson, 17, has been charged with second-degree murder as an adult, and the boy is now charged with second-degree murder.
Mayor Lightfoot is announcing changes to curfews throughout the city
Mayor Lightfoot previously announced restrictions on time, place and manner at Millennium Park after 6pm Thursday to Sunday.
At a news conference on Monday, Mayor Lightfoot said he was making changes to the city’s curfew for people aged 17 and under, which has been in place since 1992. Curfew is 11pm for people aged 17 and under, and Lightfoot said it would now be 10 p.m.
Lightfoot said she was “anxious” to learn that 10- and 11-year-olds were coming to the city center unaccompanied at night.
“It’s just not smart and it’s definitely not safe, no matter the destination,” Lightfoot said. “It’s not just because it’s in the center. Our children need to be accompanied by adults. Point.”
The mayor said he understood that teenagers needed safe places and pointed to activities available on mychimyfuture.org.
Superintendent David Brown said Sunday that the police department’s current priority is to make Millennium Park safe, but acknowledged that there is a possibility of relocating elsewhere in the city center. These large groups of young people seem to be attracted to the center on weekends, not by chance, but as a result of coordinated efforts to be born there on social media, he said.
“It’s different,” Brown said. “Our intelligence tells us that groups are coming together. These young people … we have to deal with the back end of how this starts.”
Hours after the shooting at Millennium Park, nearby, two other youths were shot dead near State Street and Jackson Boulevard.
Chicago announces a new curfew in Millennium Park after a deadly shooting
Mayor Lightfoot also said Monday that he had ordered Chicago police to speed up traces of firearms found in the hands of minors.
The city said the new policy would be strictly enforced and violations would be rectified quickly.
“We, as a city, cannot allow any of our public spaces to become platforms for danger. Everyone who enters our public spaces should expect to enjoy them in peace and must respect and show the basic norms of society for decency. “We simply will not accept anything less,” Lightfoot said. our young people are gathering everywhere in this great city. “
The city said the new policy would be strictly enforced and violations would be rectified quickly.
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The American Civil Liberties Union has issued a statement saying curfew could lead to unnecessary stops and arrests.
“The mayor’s announcement suggests that the window of our city should not be accessible to all Chicagoans. Curfew and bans create group guilt for all young people – whether they are there to enjoy the sights and sounds of the center or something else. The vague description – relying on an indefinite “responsible adult” – allowing young people to attend the park and the promise of strict enforcement will lead to unnecessary stops and arrests and further strain relations between the CPD and colored youth. We will continue to monitor this situation closely, “the ACLU said in a statement.
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