Mayor Brandon Johnson and Chicago police Superintendent Larry Snelling on Monday urged local parents to keep vigilant over their teens’ whereabouts ahead of the city’s planned New Year’s Eve celebration in the Loop later this week.
“We want our young people to experience this event and the best of our city along with us, and we’re encouraging families to make a plan with their children and teens,” Johnson said. “Parents, talk to your children about their plans and help them identify a safe place where they can go if they get separated from their group.”
On Wednesday, the city will host its New Year’s celebration along Wacker Drive between Franklin Street and Columbus Drive.
“Please know where your children are,” Snelling said, before repeating his plea two more times.
“We have a lot of young people who go down(town) and do the right thing and they’re enjoying themselves and they’re responsible,” Snelling said. “But then we have young people who show up and they’re down there for the purpose of causing problems.”
“The Chicago Police Department is not going to tolerate that.”
Snelling said CPD officers will be highly visible throughout the downtown area, on the CTA and throughout the rest of the city as the calendar turns to 2026.
A month ago, two shootings unfolded in the Loop shortly after the city’s annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in Millennium Park. A 14-year-old boy was killed and eight other teens were wounded by gunfire.
The “teen takeover” gatherings have vexed city officials for more than a decade. Typically organized on social media, the unsanctioned gatherings often see hundreds of unaccompanied minors zigzagging through the downtown area. Interpersonal skirmishes often lead to fistfights, and those fistfights sometimes result in shootings.
Johnson said outreach workers will also be assigned along the Riverwalk to help maintain safety, though any person under 17 years old must be accompanied by an adult after 10 p.m.
“As we close out one of the most transformative years in violence reduction in our city’s history, we want to finish this year safe and strong,” Johnson added. “This celebration belongs to our entire city.”
