CHICAGO — Good Kids Mad City filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Chicago to seek relief from the city’s curfew on Halloween so young people with the organization can “cop watch and peacekeep” in the city's Hyde Park neighborhood on the holiday.
The city’s curfew prohibits those under the age of 18 from being on the streets after 10 p.m. Every year on Halloween, Good Kids Mad City holds an event in Hyde Park where members cop watch — observe police activity with the goal of deescalating and discouraging police misconduct — and conduct outreach to young people. According to the lawsuit, members are concerned officers will arrest and harass them during their event.
The suit seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that would prevent police from enforcing the curfew against activists who engage in “nontraditional First Amendment activities.”
When asked about the lawsuit at a news conference Thursday afternoon, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she doesn’t typically comment on pending litigation and she’ll let the court decide what is correct.
“But if you read the ordinance, there’s plenty of opportunity in the ordinance itself for them to do exactly what they’re saying they want to do ... but there’s nothing that prevents people who are active and engaged, going to events, staffing events, from being out in the city,” she said. “The curfew ordinance doesn’t stop that.”
The ordinance notes that the curfew does not apply for youth who are participating in or returning home immediately after a ticketed or sponsored event, but that the youth should have evidence of their attendance at the event such as a ticket stub or wristband.
Since the City Council amended the curfew in May, the Police Department has increased enforcement by at least 57% compared with enforcement last year, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also argues that enforcement focuses on Black and brown neighborhoods, which is the base of Good Kids Mad City’s operations.
The lawsuit also asks that the Police Department inform all officers during roll call that they are prohibited from enforcing the curfew against the youth participating in these actions.
Good Kids Mad City’s peacekeeping and police watching activities often occur during curfew hours because that is when members believe it has the most impact, according to the lawsuit.
“This is particularly true on Halloween, when both young people and police are particularly active after the curfew hours. Because GKMC’s cop watching and peacekeeping activities must occur during curfew hours, there are no alternative channels for this expression,” according to the lawsuit.
Kristen Cabanban, a spokesperson for the city’s Law Department, declined to comment.
“This matter is now pending litigation and the city has no comment,” she said in an email.
Superintendent David Brown said at the news conference Thursday that the Police Department is collaborating with more groups and city departments this year during the holiday, and it plans to deploy more officers in all neighborhoods and on the CTA system during the Halloween weekend compared to previous years.
The youth curfew should not change how police patrol this year’s Halloween given the curfew’s exceptions, Brown said.
“We want everyone to have fun. We want you to enjoy being out, but we also want you to be safe,” he said.
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