Fed-Up Lawmaker Wants to Issue $5K Fines to Parents with 'Out of Control' Children
A Chicago alderman said it’s time to hold parents of minor accountable for their kids’ illegal actions, since other attempts to rein in the youths’ bad behavior have fallen short.
Alderman Ray Lopez, a Democrat, told the Chicago Sun-Times that minors were responsible for “90% of all the problems” associated with a recent spate of violent street takeovers in the city.
“We have children who are out of control causing 90% of the problems, particularly as it relates to the street takeovers, drag racing and all of the other illegal activities,” Lopez told the Sun-Times in an article published Monday.
Lopez has proposed a new city ordinance that would assess fines against any parent or legal guardian who “allows” a minor in their care to take part in any of the crimes currently plaguing Chicago.
Lopez proposed the ordinance after viewing, which was also posted by independent journalist Andy Ngo posted video Monday to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The video showed what Ngo described as a “mob of youths” smashing a car the previous Friday night; Ngo also noted that police had to “struggle to contain the riot.”
Shocking video recorded in Chicago on Oct. 13 shows a Tesla driver desperately try to escape from a mob of youths smashing up the car. The driver hits other cars as he tries to drive off. Police struggle to contain the riot. pic.twitter.com/nzRun24xW0
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) October 16, 2023
The new ordinance, proposed at a City Council meeting Monday, would allow authorities to charge any adult who ““willfully and/or knowingly allow[s] a minor in their charge to engage in a host of offenses wreaking havoc on the quality of life in Chicago neighborhoods. Those offenses range from panhandling, underage and public drinking and cannabis use, violating curfew and ‘climbing on’ cars to street takeovers and drag racing.”
It would criminalize lending or selling paintball guns to minors and encouraging minors to engage in criminal activity through social media. Minors would also be banned from begging, should the City Council enact Lopez’ proposal.
According to the Sun-Times, fines could range from $1,000 to $5,000, and those found guilty under the new ordinance would also be required to attend “licensed family counseling” and complete an assigned number of hours of community service.
Lopez said his goal was to get parents to take responsibility for their kids more than it was about levying fines.
“The goal isn’t just to fine parents,” Lopez said. “It’s to change behavior and to help parents so that they raise better children.”
“Hundreds of kids took over an intersection and began jumping on passersby trying to escape the madness,” Lopez said of the video that spurred him to draft the new law.
“These teens have jumped on buses. They’ve jumped on cars — not just downtown, but in the neighborhoods,” he said. “And we have no real recourse.”
Five people were arrested for that incident and police impounded five cars after a “Car Caravan Team” deployed what the Sun-Times called “tire deflation devices,” according to Chicago Police Department spokesman Tom Ahern.
Another Chicago alderman, Brian Hopkins, said he recognized the challenges facing law enforcement when it comes to addressing so-called “flash mobs” engendered by social media.
“It just shows how difficult it is to stop these organized events when people are communicating with each other,” Hopkins told the Sun-Times. “They say, ‘Let’s go take over this certain intersection,’ and they’re able to do it before we even have a clue it’s happening.”
Earlier this month, Lopez announced a run for the U.S. House, declaring that the Democrat currently holding the seat in Illinois’ 4th Congressional District, Jesús “Chuy” García, was too liberal.
“I think the district has changed,” Lopez told WLS-TV in an interview. “Obviously after the 2020 remap, the politics of the district has changed. They’re looking for a more moderate-centrist type of leader, which Chuy clearly is not. He’s pivoted to the left and to the extreme left for his politics.”
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