An effort to push the curfew up two hours, to 8 p.m., for kids under 18 in downtown Chicago is getting new attention.

Twice so far this year, large gatherings of teens in the Streeterville neighborhood have ended in gunfire – on March 9, when a 46-year-old tourist was shot near the AMC River East movie theater; and on March 28, when a 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg not far away on Cityfront Plaza Drive.

Now neighbors in Streeterville are pushing to get the City Council and Mayor Brandon Johnson to change the curfew for minors downtown from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m., in effort to curb the foolishness happening in their backyards.

One week ago, Streeterville residents were upset to watch as a crowd of dozens of teenagers took over the streets on a warm Friday night. Chicago police were out in force. Nonetheless, a 15-year-old ended up shot in the leg.

Kathy Gregg, with Streeterville Neighborhood Advocates, said police had set up barricades around Ogden Plaza Park, where the teens were gathering, in an attempt to keep them from going into the surrounding neighborhood.

Gregg has called Streeterville home for seven years. Last week's so-called "teen takeover" wasn't the first time she and her neighbors expressed concern about large crowds of teens.

"What's different is when there are a group of young kids running around with no direction and nowhere to go," she said.

In recent years, downtown communities have all seen various issues with teens gathering and in many instances causing issues.

Now the Streeterville Neighborhood Advocates are again calling on the mayor and City Council to do more. They've organized an online petition urging the city to change the downtown curfew for minors from 10 p.m. to 8 p.m. Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd) first proposed the change last year, but it was stalled in committee.

Asked about concerns from some opponents that an earlier curfew is potential overreach, Gregg said, "I'd ask them to come down and take a look, and what was happening; because there was gunfire, and there was tasing going on, and there were kids running through the traffic."

Streeterville residents hope bumping up the curfew by two hours would deter kids from getting in trouble so late.

Mayor Johnson said earlier this week that he's looking to invest in the youth, and not restrict them.

"I haven't really thought much about curfews, to be honest with you. I think I spend more time thinking about how we can actually invest in young people, and create more healthy safe spaces for them to be able to exercise their heart's desires, and do it in a constructive way," Johnson said.

The mayor has said he's opposed to an earlier curfew downtown, arguing "it would just displace these young people into the nearest neighborhood."

"It's not productive to shift the problem to the next community over. What we have to do is enforce the current citywide curfew law that we already have in place before we consider additional measures," Johnson said in a statement after last week's shooting in Streeterville.

As for the neighbors' cry for help and order.

"They pretty much said what I said; that it's going to take all of us; that everybody has to lean in and support our young people," Johnson said earlier this week.

While Johnson has repeatedly said Chicago's downtown is for people of all ages to enjoy, Gregg stressed, "the children cannot be without their parents, and I think that's the message too."

Hopkins has said he plans to push for a City Council vote on the earlier downtown curfew proposal at the next meeting on April 16. The petition's organizers plan to be at the meeting to voice their concerns to the mayor and all 50 aldermen.