Chicago mayor says he’ll veto council-approved curfew ordinance
[June 20, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Chicago aldermen have approved a curfew ordinance
aimed at preventing violent teen gatherings, but the city’s mayor said
he’ll veto it.
The city council passed a measure Wednesday allowing the Chicago police
superintendent to impose temporary curfews anywhere in the city.
Alderman Brian Hopkins worked on various proposals after two people were
injured in shootings during downtown street takeovers in March.
“We are all 100% on the same page when I say that we’ve seen the videos
of the events that inspired this ordinance, and no one here is OK with
that. No one here thinks it’s perfectly acceptable for large groups of
teenagers, some as young as 12, to gather anywhere in the city, downtown
or anywhere, and get out of control and to take guns out of their
backpacks and to engage in violent behavior,” Hopkins said.
After Wednesday’s council meeting, Mayor Brandon Johnson said he would
veto the curfew ordinance because it was “counterproductive.”
“It would create tensions between residents and law enforcement at a
time when we have worked so hard to rebuild that trust. We have made
significant progress in our compliance with the consent decree and now
is not the time to introduce new measures that could undermine those
hard-fought gains,” Johnson said.
The mayor said his policies are more effective at reducing violence than
proposals to give police more tools.
“I’m actually doing the work that works, right, so it’s also providing
opportunities for our young people. Expanding youth employment at a time
when people are looking for purpose, that does make a difference,”
Johnson said.
The mayor ended the city’s use of gunshot-detection technology last
year.
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Chicago police officers monitor protesters at the Democratic
National Convention in Chicago
Greg Bishop | The Center Square
Several aldermen reported large gatherings of young people in their
wards over the course of the last two weeks. Five arrests were
reported Tuesday night as a large crowd gathered near North Avenue
Beach on Chicago’s North Side.
Hopkins said curfews work.
“I’ve been on the street during these teen trends when they turn
violent and I was out there with the deputy mayor at the last one,
and it wasn’t until ten o’clock, when the police had the ability to
enforce the curfew ordinance, that the event finally was brought to
a conclusion,” Hopkins said.
Alderman Monique Scott supported Hopkins’ curfew measure. Scott said
she won’t let her 17-year-old daughter go downtown because it’s not
safe.
“We forget the big picture. We put everything on the politician but
forget that they have a mom. I’m a single mom, and disadvantaged or
unprivileged or Black does not mean that you get a license to roam
and wreak havoc,” Scott said.
Johnson’s veto would be the first by a Chicago mayor since 2006,
when Richard M. Daley held the office.
The city council approved the curfew measure by a vote of 27-22.
Aldermen would need 34 votes to override the mayor’s veto.
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