Shooting victim's guardian backs earlier curfew amid push for mayor to prevent 'teen takeovers'

The guardian of a 15-year-old boy shot in Streeterville on Friday told the Chicago Sun-Times the teen is recovering and "is fine" but wishes the city would do more to control groups of children or teens who have been converging on downtown.

The woman, who lives with the teen in Englewood, said she agrees with those who have been calling for an earlier curfew for minors downtown. That includes a Streeterville neighborhood group that said Monday Mayor Brandon Johnson needs to get serious about preventing "teen takeovers" that see large groups of unaccompanied minors gathering downtown and in some cases engaging in violence.

The woman, who asked not to be named, said she has looked after the teen since his mother was killed in gun violence four years ago. The boy had gone downtown to see a movie Friday, and she said she was unaware of any "takeover" plans.

"I don't think he should be downtown, period," she told the Sun-Times. "I don't think a group of kids should be running around downtown."

Police were already on the scene of the large gathering when gunfire rang out about 9:40 p.m. near North Water Street and Cityfront Plaza Drive, according to a police report.

Officers said the gunfire was followed by dozens of teens running from the area. Video posted on social media shows upward of 100 people running from the scene.

The 15-year-old was grazed by a bullet on his leg, and officers found him on a sidewalk near Columbus Street, police said. No one has been arrested in connection to the shooting.

Streeterville neighbors send letter to Mayor Johnson

Also Monday, the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents sent a strongly worded letter to Johnson after the shooting Friday, which comes two weeks after a tourist was shot near the AMC River East 21 movie theater.

"While we respect the right to gather, no one has the right to take over our streets and sidewalks in a manner that terrorizes residents, businesses, and visitors," the letter stated.

The group wants Johnson to give police officers "the necessary authority to intervene before violence occurs and with necessary resources for crowd control, such as dogs and mounted police."

The group also wants the mayor to engage school and union leaders "to address the root causes of this issue" and to implement "preventive measures" to deter future takeovers.

"These takeovers will persist throughout the spring and summer unless decisive action is taken," the group wrote.

Johnson, though, continues to oppose a proposal from 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins that would institute an 8 p.m. curfew for unaccompanied minors that would apply only to downtown — two hours earlier than other areas in the city.

“What I’m calling for is to do what works,” the mayor told NBC5 over the weekend.

“Shifting the problem into other communities — that’s not how we transform our city.”

Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) — a former Chicago ]olice sergeant now chairing the City Council’s Police Committee — also doesn't support a separate curfew for downtown.

“The last thing I want to see is a curfew that’s designated to segregate folks from coming to any area of the city. … It just reminds me of a time when we used laws and rules to segregate our folks, our people across the United States,” Taliaferro said.

Taliaferro said there "has to be room for a compromise" between Hopkins and Johnson.

"This is the third administration where we've had these type of problems. But no one has actually sat down at the table for three administrations and said, 'This is a compromise for how we believe these issues can be best handled.'"

Instead of the separate downtown curfew, Taliaferro said the citywide curfew of 10 p.m. should be rigidly enforced with parents of unaccompanied minors held liable.

Evens so, he wondered whether undermanned police could enforce a strict curfew.

Hopkins plans to force curfew vote

Despite the opposition, Hopkins said he plans to use a parliamentary maneuver at the April 16 City Council meeting to force a vote on the 8 p.m. downtown curfew.

He needs two-thirds of members — 34 votes — to bring the proposal to the City Council floor for a final vote.

“I would hope they would support me in doing this for my neighborhood that’s uniquely affected by teen takeovers," he said. "That’s not to say that an 8 o’clock curfew couldn’t be applied elsewhere. But the problem is happening downtown.

“Show me any other neighborhood that had 300 teens take over the streets for four hours last weekend. ... The solution needs to be applied where the problem exists.”

He said he was with police when they started enforcing the 10 p.m. curfew Friday and saw a half-dozen minors taken into custody.

“That had an immediate impact on the remaining crowd. That’s when they started to disperse.,” Hopkins said.

He added that while there are also "longer-term solutions" that need to be discussed, “Curfew enforcement works."

On Monday, a 15-year-old boy was charged in connection with the shooting of the tourist near the AMC River East 21 in Streeterville.

The teen was accused of firing the gun that wounded a 46-year-old woman from Connecticut who was walking with her 11-year-old son March 9 in the 300 block of East Illinois Street, police said. He was charged with aggravated battery with a firearm.