CHICAGO CITY HALL (WBBM Newsradio) -- Chicago police would be able to declare a targeted curfew 12 hours ahead of a so-called teen takeover in a city neighborhood, under a proposal now being considered by City Council.
This is downtown alderman Brian Hopkins' latest attempt to crack down on social media-fueled gatherings that have sometimes devolved into violence, such as the two shootings in the Loop after the city's official Christmas tree-lighting ceremony last month.
"The fatal shooting involving the 14-year-old was a galvanizing event for many of my colleagues," said Ald. Hopkins (2nd Ward), who formally introduced his updated curfew ordinance during Wednesday's City Council meeting.
The new version takes out the ability for police to call a curfew with 30 minutes notice, which became known as the "snap curfew" ordinance: "The general belief was that just wasn't enough time for notification."
Hopkins explained that in his latest proposal, any curfew would be declared with 12 hours notice, giving time for parents and schools to be notified, and for social media companies to take down any posts about a gathering.
"Every teen trend that we would have needed the curfew for, we've had more than 12 hours notice that it was going to happen," Hopkins said.
Aldermen approved Hopkins' snap curfew plan several months ago, only to have it vetoed by the mayor. Hopkins said he believes it'll get a hearing next month.