Teens tell Chicago City Council why "teen takeovers" are appealing and offer their ideas for safety solutions
City leaders have searched for ways to address large teen gatherings, and on Wednesday, they turned to the teens themselves.
Wednesday, 26th Ward Ald. Jessie Fuentes chaired a hearing focused on large teen gatherings, also known as teen takeovers, with actual teenagers as the main focus.
The consensus from the young people who came to testify to the council was, in their words, that they don't want a cheesy government-run program where adults tell them what to do. They want a safe space with some autonomy, where they can learn how to be adults themselves.
When asked what works to prevent the chaotic scenes that sometimes dominate news coverage, the youths had a straightforward answer.
"It's general when you're not met with a gun and a bulletproof vest," said Damarrion Spann, youth leader with My Block My Hood My City.
A handful of young people from different neighborhoods on the city's South and West Sides spoke for hundreds of teens who say they just want a place to go see their friends, where they feel safe and which, many times, they said means somewhere outside the parks and other locations in their own neighborhoods.
"They took all the free spaces from us and they expect us not to go to the beach or downtown," said Fabian Walker, a youth peacekeeper with GoodKids MadCity who lives in South Shore.
"When people ask why teenagers attend teen gatherings or teen trends, the answer is simple: we want somewhere to go," said Deja Williams, youth peacekeeper with GoodKids MadCity, who is from West Englewood.
This discussion comes one week after the Chicago City Council rejected a proposal that would have held some parents accountable for disruptive gatherings involving teens. Supporters said the ordinance would create accountability. Opponents argued that the city should focus more on investment, opportunity, and engagement with young people.
"They label all teens as the bad teen because a group of teens decides to do something," said Spann, who is from North Lawndale. "I've went to North Riverside Mall before and we were met with dogs. They were, like, 'bring the K-9s out' and they would just chase us through the mall with the K-9s. How would you expect someone to respond to that?"
"Not every single young person that goes to a teen trend is committing a crime, and I think we have to have honest conversations, right, that there are hundreds of young people attend these events," Ald. Fuentes said.
"Today's subject matter hearing is focused on the voices of young people," Fuentes said in council. "Again, we anticipate that this sort of hearing will be a series."
Spann said he chose to testify before the city council because he wants them to understand the youth perspective and let it help them find solutions to give young people spaces to gather while also being safe. Ald. Fuentes said this will be the first conversation of many as the council works toward tangible ideas.
"An opportunity to listen to the source. They're closest to the problem. They understand the solutions they want for themselves and I think for the first time legislators should take a couple of points from them," Fuentes said.
Chicago police were not represented at or included in the meeting, but Ald. Fuentes said she expects them to be brought into the conversation at some point. The goal is to have a proposal of some kind by the time talks begin for next year's budget.
