Chicago police are considering closing streets in the city’s downtown area, along with other potential strategies, in an effort to avoid a repeat of weekend mayhem that resulted in the arrests of more than 20 people last Saturday, ABC Chicago reported on Tuesday.
Citing an internal police memo that was given to police commanders on Tuesday and obtained by the ABC affiliate’s investigative team, the affiliate reported that downtown streets near Michigan Ave. and lakefront parks could be closed. Police sources told the affiliate, however, that no plans had been announced and that such closures were meant to be used in a worst-case scenario.
The police plan for avoiding a repeat of last Saturday’s chaotic downtown activity, which was detailed in the memo, also provides guidance on overlapping shifts and canceling officers’ days off, among a list of suggestions for commanders on how weekend security presence can be beefed up, according to ABC Chicago.
The details of the police plan come days after the downtown area became a scene of chaos when a group of young people engaged in fights, according to local Chicago outlet WGN-TV. ABC Chicago reported that 21 juveniles were arrested and several people injured, including police officers and a 15-year-old boy, last Saturday.
“We are going to take significant, swift action to quell any issues,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during a news conference on Sunday, according to WGN-TV.
“[Saturday night] there were a large number of children that were down at Millennium Park. We followed the protocols that we put in place from the summer of 2020. When it was time for them to leave the park, we made sure they left the park without incident,” she added.
The Hill has reached out to the Chicago Police Department for comment.