Should parents be held accountable if their children break the law? That’s a question that a group of City Council members considered during today’s public safety committee meeting at City Hall.
There’s another curfew policy update that’s circulating in City Hall. As written, the proposed amendment imposes penalties on youth who violate curfew, engage in drag racing or car flipping, are intoxicated, or use paintball guns and adds a layer of accountability for parents for their children’s actions such as fines or jail time.
If this update is approved by alders in the future, it would be included as a section in the city’s already existing youth curfew policy.
Ultimately, the proposal failed to receive enough votes in today’s public safety committee meeting.
For those who aren’t familiar, here’s what happened. The proposed amendment to the city’s youth curfew policy is sponsored by Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward). Lopez introduced the legislation in 2023, but it was referred to the City Council’s rules committee, where legislation can sit stalled.
Lopez reiterated his intentions for the amendment, which he explained isn’t to criminalize parents. Instead, he said his goal is to “wake parents up.”
“We have youth running around with no guidance, no parental awareness, similar to what many of us grew up with, knowing what the youth are doing,” Lopez said. “In situations where there is a parent or legal guardian, they should be fully aware of where their children are. If they are not or if they are knowingly dismissing what their children are up to, then they should be held accountable, plain and simple.”
The proposed legislation includes a $1,000 fine, community service, family counseling for parents or guardians or potential jail time.
“The goal isn’t about the money. The goal is about better parenting. If you can create better parents, we will see, in my opinion, a decrease in many of the issues that we’re trying to solve,” Lopez said.
Ald. Christopher Taliaferro (29th Ward) questioned the constitutionality of the proposed amendment regarding parents’ accountability during a brief debate on the matter.
“It says that a parent or guardian can be subject to fines or imprisonment, and I want to stress imprisonment as if they had committed the crime themselves. I think that falls into a constitutional challenge,” Taliaferro said.
The amendment states that any parent or legal guardian who willfully or knowingly allows a minor or minors to participate in acts such as violating curfew, drag racing or car flipping, are intoxicated, or use paintball guns is punishable by fine or imprisonment and “shall be held as responsible and accountable for the activity of said minor as if they committed the acts themselves.”
“I can’t support it, because we’re looking to hold a parent liable as if they committed the act themselves, which I believe will fall short of being constitutional,” Taliaferro added.
The concerns about parental accountability were also expressed by the city’s law department, according to Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward), he chairs the public safety committee.
“We do want a defensible ordinance here, and of course, it will be incumbent upon the law department to defend any potential legal challenge, and so we need to make sure that they’re on the same page,” Hopkins said.
Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th Ward) then motioned against passing the amendment. Alders voted 10-5 against the proposed amendment.
