Editorial: Mayor Brandon Johnson should not veto snap curfews
Listen to your aldermen, Mr. Mayor.
On Wednesday, Chicago’s City Council passed by a vote of 27-22 an ordinance authorizing so-called “snap curfews,” meaning that Chicago police will have the authority to get teenagers off the streets if they sense trouble is brewing. In essence, police Superintendent Larry Snelling would have the power to impose curfews in specific public areas within Chicago where large, unpermitted teen gatherings are beginning, or expected soon to form. The idea is that police officers would be able to tell those already assembled that they have 30 minutes either to go home or take a walk with just a couple of friends elsewhere.
Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted the ordinance approved by a clear majority of aldermen and said he planned to issue a rare mayoral veto (the first since 2006, the Richard M. Daley era) in coming days.
He should rethink that idea.
We’re aware of arguments against giving the police this power, especially given our long-standing interest in guarding civil liberties. We’ve been concerned about a couple of kids being inside a movie theater, for example, only to walk out onto the street without knowing about any curfew and then finding themselves in conflict with the police. We’re also of the view that law-abiding teens must be welcomed downtown and that there is nothing illegal in gathering with friends on a warm summer’s night, shooting the breeze. That’s why we were against making the existing 10 p.m. curfew for Under 17s any earlier, and why we applaud Jahmal Cole, founder and CEO of “My Block, My Hood, My City,” who is planning to bring over 1,500 teens, primarily from the South and West sides, into the business and cultural districts of downtown Chicago on July 19 for what he calls “a day of exploration, belonging and new opportunities.”
This will be the third year the nonprofit organization also known as M3 will have chaperoned an initiative powered by donors and volunteers; we hear Cole expects to have more participants than ever this year. The plan is both to make these teens feel like they belong downtown, as they should, and also to start to shift some negative perceptions among downtown business owners and workers. We hope everyone has a great time together.
But there is often a tradeoff between civil liberties and crime prevention and, where minors are concerned, protection must come first. If it is handled right, this new police power might actually keep kids safer by pre-empting any trouble before it happens. And to think that there is no danger of such trouble when teens gather en masse downtown is to put your head in the sand when it comes to the lessons of recent history, especially as hot summer nights are upon us. Johnson claimed that the ordinance, introduced by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), “is counterproductive to the progress that we have made in reducing crime and violence in our city.”
With all due respect, we don’t see the merit of that argument. It should be seen as a tool. And let’s remember that incidents of violent crime don’t just affect tourists or the business district — they’re usually worse for the kids caught up in any melee. No parent or grandparent wants a teen to get stuck around a group of hot-headed peers who might encourage them to do things they later have cause to regret and that impairs the progress of their promising young lives. Such scenarios typically terrify a teenager’s loved ones.
Perhaps most importantly here, the city’s aldermen, many of whom represent the impacted families and know their communities very well, are telling the mayor loud and clear that they want this protection, not just for folks downtown but for the kids themselves. And the vote would suggest that these aldermen of the majority, such as Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), trust Snelling to guard against any problems, which will mean using the ordinance very sparingly, offering as much advance notice as possible and focusing on de-escalation. Snelling already has said in several interviews that he will commit to that.
Good. And if no snap curfew is ever needed this summer, all the better.
Still, whatever his ideological misgivings or sense of being personally affronted, the mayor would be wise to listen to the City Council and add this ordinance to the police’s toolbox for keeping everyone safe.
The plan is both to make these teens feel like they belong downtown
Do they? I think history has demonstrated otherwise. Guns. Have them.
The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.
Socialism is the gospel of envy.
Third year for that. How's it been working so far?
Posted by osklister on June 20, 2025, 10:18:24, in reply to "dots"
The plan is both to make these teens feel like they belong downtown, as they should, and also to start to shift some negative perceptions among downtown business owners and workers.
Golly gee, how did those negative perceptions get started in the first place??
Wish I could find the one with a twerking contest being held on the roofs of cars trapped by these young people, who are just trying to get an education on just what the Loop means; and how they're welcome there to do whatever they dam well please in the moment. But I digress...
Totally random subject change: how's the convention business doing in Chicago?? Gotta be booming with our low sales/hotel taxes, plus our year-round favorable climate.
Just some disadvantaged yutes looking for summer jobs.
Remember. we have just too GD many police!! Defund them in the 606 zip codes. That will lead to a better, safer, stronger Chicago: the best freakin' city in the world!!
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9 injured, 1 killed in 8 separate shootings in Chicago overnight: CPD
Several investigations are underway on Friday morning as officers look to piece together what led up to eight separate shootings that unfolded around the city overnight.
Chicago police say between 7 p.m. Thursday and 3 a.m. Friday, nine people were injured and oner person was killed in eight separate incidents.
Authorities said while investigations are ongoing, no arrests have been made in connection with any of the incidents.
Police provided the following list of times and locations of the overnight shootings:
2 injured in Englewood shooting – 7:51 p.m. According to police, the particularly violent evening began when officers responded to a shooting in the 6600 block of South Halsted Street, in Englewood.
Officers said during the incident, which unfolded around 8 p.m., a 30-year-old man and a 34-year-old man were standing in a parking lot in the area when a vehicle pulled up and three unknown individuals got out.
Officers said the group then opened fire on the two victims.
Both men were critically injured in the shooting and no arrests have been made.
Man killed in Englewood shooting – 9:10 p.m. Just hours later, officers were called to the scene of another shooting nearby, this time deadly.
According to police, the victim was gunned down just after 9 p.m. as he was leaving a store in the 600 block of West 63rd Street in Englewood.
Officers said the victim, a 32-year-old man, was walking out of a store in the area when a gunman approached and fired several gunshots in his direction before fleeing the scene.
Authorities have not yet identified the victim killed and it is unclear what led up to the shooting. Man injured in Near North Side shooting – 11:27 p.m The next shooting call police responded to was in the 500 block of West Hobbie Street on the Near North Side.
Officers said just before 11:30 p.m., an 18-year-old man was struck by gunfire while walking with friends in the area.
Police said they believed the gunman was a male, but said he fled the scene after firing shots.
Following the shooting, the victim was taken to the hospital in good condition.
Police spoke with a person of interest following the shooting, but no arrests have been made.
Man injured in Englewood shooting – 1:43 a.m. Hours later, around 1:43 a.m., officers were called to the scene of a shooting in the 6700 block of South Parnell Avenue in Englewood.
According to police, a 29-year-old man was injured while trying to break up a fight between two women in an apartment in the area.
Officers said while the victim was attempting to break up the fight, another man pulled out a gun and shot him in the shoulder before fleeing the scene.
Officers said the victim was later transported to the hospital in good condition.
No arrests have been made and an investigation is ongoing.
Man injured in West Englewood shooting – 2:05 a.m. The next incident unfolded in the 6800 block of South Winchester Avenue, in West Englewood.
Officers said just after 2 a.m., a 56-year-old man who was among a group of people standing in the street in the area was shot by an unknown offender who fired shots from across the street before fleeing the scene.
The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his right calf and was hospitalized in good condition.
No other injuries were reported and no arrests have been made.
Man injured in Englewood shooting – 2:15 a.m. As officers were on the scene of the previous shooting, gunfire erupted at a gas station in the 200 block of West 63rd Street in Englewood.
Officers said the victim, a 37-year-old man, was sitting in a car that was parked at the gas station when three armed individuals approached around 2:15 a.m.
The three individuals then opened fire on the victim before fleeing the scene.
The victim was taken to the hospital in good condition and no arrests have been made.
2 injured in Near West Side shooting – 2:52 a.m. Later that hour, around 2:50 a.m. officers responded to a report of two men shot in the 300 block of South Campbell Avenue, on the Near West Side.
According to police, the victims, a 29-year-old man and a 33-year-old man, were in a yard in the area when they heard gunshots and felt pain.
Both men suffered gunshot wounds and took themselves to the hospital, where they were listed in good condition.
No arrests were made and it is unclear what led to the shooting.
Man injured in Near South Side shooting – 3:13 a.m. The last shooting officers reported overnight unfolded just after 3 a.m. in the 2000 block of South Wabash Avenue, on the Near South Side.
Officers said during the incident, a man noticed that a group of four people were breaking into his car.
When he went to confront the group, officers said the offenders began shooting at the victim before fleeing the scene.
The victim was later hospitalized in good condition and no arrests have been made.
BTW, that address on the Near North Side, Hobbie Street?? I thought that was a misspelling. But no, it's right there near Cabrini-Green. Everyone calls that the Near North Side.
on June 19, 2025, 9:13:35
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