Alderperson seeks earlier curfew for minors after shooting during Streeterville teen takeover

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said the disruptive gathering of teens in Streeterville is not something the city will tolerate.

But one downtown alderperson says businesses and residents want more than just strong words to make the city safe.

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A summer-like evening downtown turned ugly on Friday after an estimated 300 hundred young people descended on Streeterville. Dozens of police were in the area to handle the crowd.

At one point, shots were fired, and a 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg.

"Nobody wants to experience that level of disruption, and we're certainly not tolerating it, and I never have," Johnson said.

The mayor suggested on Tuesday that one way to address the problem is by providing more positive activities and places for teens to gather.

"There are investments that the city can make. And then there are things that I know that the business community, you know, they want to do more, and many of them have learned in, but we do need them to do more," Johnson said.

The mayor also appealed to churches to provide more safe places for teen to gather.

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But 2nd Ward Ald. Brian Hopkins is ramping up his push for making the 10 p.m. curfew earlier, noting that time is when police could finally intervene and deal with the crowd last week, making numerous arrests.

"So, we had to wait till 10 o'clock, because that's the current law. If we could start at 8 o'clock, we could break these crowds up earlier and prevent the kind of violence that's breaking up," Hopkins said.

"Working to relocate or displace the problem is not how we solve the problem," Johnson said.

Hopkins insists that tough talk is not enough.

"Seems like he doesn't have any real interest in this, immediate solutions. You know, once you get 300 teenagers to take over the streets, that's not the time to talk about building a community center or having a job fair. You have to have an immediate response to that," Hopkins said.

Hopkins says he is concerned that unless something changes, giving the police an earlier curfew as a tool could help as the warmer weather could bring similar problems in the months ahead.