CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Early Walker, the CEO of I'm Telling, Don't Shoot, said his organization is working with Chicago police on a text message system that would tell parents about teen takeover events similar to last weekend’s gathering, which led to violence.
He said it is a tool to help busy parents stay on top of what's happening in the community.
“A lot of times, parents are at work,” he said. “We have a lot of single-parent households, so we wanted to bring something to the table that can at least act as a notification if something’s going on.”
Walker said he presented the idea, which he described as being similar to an Amber Alert, to CPD in 2022. The core idea, he said, is to ask parents: “Do you know where your kids are?”
Rev. Kevin Ashford Sr. said his parents kept tabs on him at all times as a child growing up on the West Side, and he said that makes a big difference in the life of a young person.
“If parents would be able to have this entity come together with the City of Chicago and our police department, there certainly could be some changes made,” Ashford said.
Parents can text chicagokids to 21000 or email parentsforchicago@gmail.com to sign up.
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