CHICAGO — A day after three people were shot downtown, including a 16-year-old boy killed near ‘The Bean,’ Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has imposed a limited curfew, “effective immediately,” for unaccompanied minors in Millennium Park.
Lightfoot said the city would restrict juveniles without a “responsible adult” from entering Millennium Park after 6 p.m. Thursday through Sunday.
“We, as a City, can not allow any of our public spaces to become platforms for danger,” Lightfoot said. “Anyone coming into our public spaces should expect to enjoy them peacefully and must respect and exhibit basic community norms of decency. We simply will not accept anything less.”
City officials haven’t explained how they will enforce the curfew or deal with violations.
The declaration comes after a 16-year-old boy, identified as Seandell Holliday, was shot and killed near The Bean Saturday night.
A 17-year-old is now charged with second-degree murder, aggravated battery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
Brown added that officers also arrested a 16-year-old who was carrying a 9mm ‘ghost gun.’
In all, 26 juveniles and five adults were arrested amid downtown disturbances Saturday night.
Police also recovered eight guns.
Chicago police Supt. David Brown addressed the violence downtown during a Sunday afternoon news conference, appealing directly to the parents of teens.
“We as parents, as difficult a job as it’s been these past two years, have a responsibility to our kids and to the city at large to ensure there’s adult supervision,” Brown said. “As you saw last night, things happen quickly and can’t you imagine the phone call to the parents whose kids were downtown to come pick me up because someone was shot and killed?”
The ACLU is pushing back against the new rules for Millennium Park, however, saying, “Curfews and bans create group culpability for all young people…the promise of strict enforcement will result in unnecessary stops and arrests and further strain relations between CPD and young people of color.”
The city police superintendent said that as a father, it hurts to see the lives of so several young people lost to gun violence.
“Too many guns are making their way into the hands of those who have too little respect for the sanctity of life,” Brown said. “It should not be normal to see young lives with an immense potential cut short.”
