Chicagoans pack city hall to oppose Jim Crow curfew ordinance, win this round

Chicago, IL – On Wednesday morning, July 16, hundreds of people packed the Chicago city hall lobby ahead of the city council meeting. Many youth and community organizations stood united in opposition to the racist snap curfew ordinance that was put forward by Alderman Brian Hopkins two months before. This snap curfew would give the Chicago Police Department unchecked power in the instance of a mass gathering to institute a curfew with only 30 minutes notice and engage in mass arrests.

The curfew received a favorable vote in the June city council meeting, but Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the ordinance.

“The easy way would be to tell people that if we threaten young people and their families with severe repercussions, that would somehow make us safer. Instead, today, we are doing the right thing. We are deciding to focus on investing in people,” said Mayor Johnson at a press conference Wednesday morning.

By law, when a mayoral veto is issued, another vote is held at the next month’s city council meeting, and a supermajority of 34 of the 50 city council members is required to overturn it.

In a victory for the people, the mayor’s veto of the snap curfew ordinance was upheld in a vote of 22-28, with all 22 of the city council members who opposed the ordinance in the initial vote holding their ground.

“We came here today to stand with the mayor’s veto of this Jim Crow ordinance and make it clear that Chicago won’t stand for the criminalization of our young people and communities,” said Kobi Guillory, Labor Committee chair with the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression.

“We don’t need another curfew. We need a vision for safety that’s built on love and care, not fear and force,” said Reynia Jackson, a youth organizer with Good Kids Mad City.

While the vote on the snap curfew united the forces who mobilized Wednesday, there was a broader convergence of progressive causes. Immigrant rights forces showed up to demand the release of the bodycam footage from a recent instance where Chicago police officers were seen collaborating with ICE. Groups representing senior citizens showed up to demand the passage of a Senior Bill of Rights. A coalition of groups pushing for funds budgeted for vacant sworn CPD officer positions to be reallocated to fund public health, youth jobs, mental health emergency response, and the fire department held a press conference in the lobby kicking off their campaign.

It was a lively scene, summed up well by Alderwoman Jeanette Taylor who ended her remarks proclaiming to the packed crowd, “This is your City Hall.”

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