New Chicago mayor faced with “teen takeovers”

One of the latest “fads” among urban teens has come to be known as “street takeovers.” Groups that organize themselves over social media show up at some random location and begin chasing pedestrians out of the area, jumping on and damaging cars, setting fires, and committing whatever other crimes come to mind. This has become a regular occurrence in Chicago, unfortunately, as if they didn’t already have enough problems to deal with. But these events also represent an early challenge for Brandon Johnson, the city’s new mayor. So how is he responding? The mayor explained his new strategy after a recent street takeover in the South Loop district of the city and it was a (somewhat) pleasant surprise. He included some of the usual social justice and “intervention” talk that we’ve grown accustomed to, but he also sent in a strong contingent of the Chicago Police and had dozens of teens arrested. That’s a significant change from the tenure of Lori Lightfoot, who preferred to keep the cops on a leash and allow the criminals to run wild. (Fox 32 Chicago)Read More