CHICAGO (WLS) — The Chicago City Council is expected to vote on a curfew designed to prevent so-called “teen takeovers.”
Some youth leaders are encouraging city leaders to vote “no.”
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Advocates of the contentious regulation affirm they possess sufficient votes to approve it. However, it remains uncertain whether Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to block the proposal through a veto.
Johnson vocally opposes the so-called ‘snap curfew, a measure that would authorize Chicago Police Superintendent Larry Snelling, in collaboration with the city’s Deputy Mayor of Public Safety, to enforce an impromptu curfew to disperse teenage takeovers in the urban area.
As the City Council prepares to cast their votes on the proposal at its upcoming session on Wednesday, various youth groups are urging council members to reject the ordinance.
Alderman Brian Hopkins says he believes he has the 30 votes necessary for the ordinance to pass, while Johnson says leaders should be focusing their attention on youth investment in the city.
“The intent of this ordinance is to prevent teen trends. How long does it take to prevent a teen trend? However long it takes. The more opportunity we have to prevent it, the better off it is. And that’s what the superintendent is going to do,” said Public Safety Committee Chair and 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins. “We’re certainly not going to do this for every time we think teens might be gathering. It’s a relatively high bar.”
“But you want to give the police the power to be able to issue a curfew as it wishes, instead of giving the city of Chicago the power to actually invest in people? What sense does that make? It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a sloppy form of governance,” Johnson said.
If the ordinance were to pass, but the mayor vetoes it, it would then require 34 votes from council to override the mayor’s veto.
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