CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Chicago City Council members are struggling to find answers in the wake of this weekend's violence by crowds of teenagers in the downtown area.
Some Chicago alderpersons said young people need to be part of the solution to the kind of violence we saw from crowds of teenagers in Downtown Chicago this past weekend.
Both 3rd Ward Alderwoman Pat Dowel and 4th Ward Alderwoman Sophia King said young people who committed mayhem Downtown should be held accountable. And, police’s presences is needed when crowds of young people are there.
But King, like Dowell, said government, police, youth leaders and others need to brainstorm ways to give young people better things to do.
“I think this is an opportunity for us to come together to try and figure out this response, which includes parents, which includes opportunities for young people, which includes holding young people accountable and it also includes making sure that we come together as adults and leaders,” King said.
Dowell doesn’t think there are easy answers to stopping the kinds of violence.
“I’m not sure what the solution is, to be quite frank. I believe that we do need to have police in those areas to stop some of the criminal activity that we see happening. But, we have to figure out ways to invest in these communities that these children come from and engage their parents and find things that are exciting for them to do,” Dowell said.
Both council members said more investment in neighborhoods is needed, and they also acknowledge people want the violence to stop now.
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