Overview
- Large groups of teens converged downtown Wednesday night across State, Randolph, Wabash and Michigan, drawing a heavy response from city police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters.
- A curfew enforcement order took effect at 10 p.m., and Ald. Brian Hopkins said the crowd at State and Lake thinned by about 10:40 p.m. after he called the scene out of control earlier.
- Chicago police reported eight juvenile arrests and 24 curfew citations, with several teens charged with misdemeanor reckless conduct and a 16-year-old facing three felony counts of aggravated assault of a peace officer.
- Witnesses and a private security group reported multiple fights and a teen knocked unconscious, and CWB Chicago said at least three people were taken to hospitals, though police have not confirmed every account.
- City Council members are advancing a revised curfew plan that would add a 30-minute dispersal warning and require officers to ask a person’s age and reason for being out, a push sharpened by spring-break crowds and recent repeat gatherings coordinated on social media.