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.”
