Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) is pushing to implement a curfew on unaccompanied minors downtown after an attack Friday on a couple by a group of teenagers.
The couple was on a date when they were surrounded by a group of teens who began beating them at about 9 p.m. near Grand Avenue and McClurg Court in Streeterville, Chicago police said.
Police say the man, 40, was hit several times in the head by a 14-year-old boy, and the woman had her hair pulled out by a 17-year-old girl.
In an interview with Fox32 Chicago, the woman said the attack wasn’t a robbery, and that the teens pepper-sprayed her and kicked her stomach. She was two weeks pregnant and said she found out after the attack that she had lost the pregnancy.
Both teens were arrested and charged with battery, a misdemeanor.
Hopkins said the charges were “entirely inappropriate” and requested the Cook County states attorney’s office upgrade the charges to a felony “given the severity of the assailants’ actions.”
He is now pushing to pass an 8 p.m. curfew to prevent any minors from being in the Central Business District and the downtown area without the supervision of an adult.
“I do not believe every minor present during these recent gatherings have ill intentions, but it is painfully clear that a few agitators and ring leaders have instigated violent and chaotic actions time and time again, and this activity cannot be tolerated,” Hopkins said in a statement.
If passed, the curfew would authorize police to cite those in violation.
Wednesday night, about 50 police officers were stationed outside the AMC River East theater in Streeterville. Anyone younger than 18 years old was not allowed inside the theater as IDs were checked at the doors, but only a small group of teens had gathered in the area.
