The Chicago Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is alarmed by the proposal to allow Chicago Police District Commanders to set curfews without advance notice. This approach has the serious potential to violate people’s due process rights to have notice of what conduct is prohibited or illegal. Because the proposed ordinance is targeted at teenagers gathering socially or in protest, it potentially violates their First Amendment rights of free speech and assembly. Given the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD’s) well-documented track record of discriminatory policing, this proposal is highly susceptible to abuse and unequal enforcement. We are concerned this proposal would subject Black and Brown teenagers to the same historical over-policing that violates equal protection rights and is harmful and unjust.
CPD has a history of violating people’s rights when enforcing dispersal orders. NLG attorneys are currently defending people in cases where CPD made arrests during the protests of the Democratic National Convention where CPD did not properly issue and enforce dispersal orders. The curfew ordinance uses a similar enforcement mechanism as the existing City ordinance regarding crowd dispersals, but with even fewer constraints on CPD’s arrest powers and no codification in the law.
Vesting CPD with what amounts to legislative authority to modify the City’s curfew at their discretion, rather than presenting and voting on an ordinance at City Council, takes away the public’s opportunity and right to weigh in on this important issue.
There are already laws in place that address harmful or violent conduct by individuals or groups, regardless of whether a curfew is in place. Broadening CPD’s powers to declare curfews and arrest our City’s young people at gatherings is not the answer.
