CHICAGO — After a late arrival from mayor Brandon Johnson, a quiet zone ordinance around a women’s health clinic in West Loop, and a proposed year-round curfew for minors dominated City Council business Wednesday.
“So, City Council is supposed to start promptly at 10:00AM,” Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) wrote on Twitter/X Wednesday. “For the fourth meeting in a row we are starting late, waiting on the Mayor. I’m guessing being stuck in “hair and makeup” is to blame.”
That’s a reference to a recent Chicago Sun-Times report that stated Johnson spent $30,000 in campaign funds to pay for hair and makeup for himself and others over the course of 15 months.
Quiet zone ordinance in West Loop
But as things got underway Wednesday morning, Ald. Bill Conway (34th Ward) was able to bring his quiet zone ordinance regarding the women’s health clinic on West Washington Boulevard in West Loop to the floor, and the alderman found both support and opposition during public comment.
“This will incite Christians to come and provide resource to these parents,” One man commented. “They have a choice for their baby to be born and live in freedom.”
According to Conway, the goal of the ordinance is to prevent the use of amplified devices around the clinic, so women can have unimpeded access to healthcare.
The ordinance was deferred by City Council last month, but on Wednesday, it was brought to the floor for a vote, and passed by a count of 41-4.
“I am trying to find the best way to help women access healthcare without harassment at this location,” Conway said. “This measure will enable that to happen.”
Conway, a member of the City Council’s finance committee, also talked to local media on the topic of a $50 million settlement signed off on Wednesday concerning the Marquette Park 4 — A group of teens wrongly convicted of a double murder in 1995, who collectively spent 73 years behind bars.
“I have no doubt as to the liability of the city,” Conway said. “But I have concern the precedent we are setting with this amount.”
Year-round curfew for minors?
Also introduced by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) Wednesday, a potential year-round 8 p.m. curfew for minors in large groups.
“This ordinance was prompted by a tragic event that happened in my ward in Streeterville,” Hopkins said. “An attack on two of my residents who were just coming home from dinner, and mere steps away from the entrance to their condo building, they were attacked without provocation.”
If implemented, the ordinance wouldn’t involve arrests, mugshots or fingerprints, but rather, a ride to the local police station for who Hopkins called “the ringleaders,” and a phone call to their parents for a pick-up.
“You just have to identify the ringleaders who are causing the trouble,” Hopkins said. “Take them off the street and make sure they get home safely, and the rest of the crowd gets what’s going on and decides it’s time to go.”
No vote on the proposed curfew for minors was held Wednesday, as it first has to be referred to committee, before it is potentially voted on in a couple of weeks.