CHICAGO (WLS) — There is a showdown looming in the push to modify the city’s youth curfew.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the Public Safety Committee will take up a revised ordinance to give police the authority to impose specific curfews to prevent teen takeovers.<\/p>\n
ABC7 Chicago is now streaming 24\/7. Click here to watch<\/a><\/p>\n Mayor Brandon Johnson remains opposed, but his reasons are being questioned.<\/p>\n Revising the current curfew is something that has been debated by city leaders for nearly nine months. Now, the mayor says a safe New Year’s Eve celebration downtown shows the current curfew is sufficient.<\/p>\n Chicago rang in the new year with a major downtown celebration that got national exposure. The weather may have spoiled the fun and festivities for some, but there was no violence that marred the evening. And a teen takeover that was reportedly brewing, never happened.<\/p>\n “Well, look, I mean, I think New Year’s Eve was a testament that we did not need an additional tool in order to ensure that our young people were where they need to be,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n The mayor’s opposition is frustrating for Alderman Brian Hopkins, who chairs the Public Safety Committee and is pushing for a revised ordinance to allow for specific “time-and-site” curfews to thwart teen takeovers.<\/p>\n “Well, he can’t be against it because he used it. He used it on New Year’s Eve. He declared a time-and-place curfew, announced that it would be enforced, and it worked. People behaved themselves. We didn’t see large groups of unaccompanied minors during the New Year’s Eve celebration. So, this is an effective tool,” Hopkins said.<\/p>\n Two days before New Year’s, the mayor and police superintendent issued a warning that the city would enforce the 10 p.m. curfew already on the books and that minors had to be accompanied by an adult if they came downtown.<\/p>\n “I’ve never been opposed to a curfew for teenagers. What I’ve been opposed to is to have unilateral control offered into one entity of government to determine if a curfew should be implemented,” Johnson said.<\/p>\n The push for time-and-place curfews gained renewed steam after police dispersed a teen gathering during the Millennium Park tree lighting in November.<\/p>\n