The summer months in Chicago typically see increased shootings and homicides, so ahead of Memorial Day, city leaders laid out their summer safety plan.
This year, Chicago neighborhoods have already had big gatherings of teens, often called “teen takeovers” or “teen trends,” and Chicago police are preparing for more this summer. The city’s new deputy mayor of community safety said new this year — they’ll be working directly with social media companies to help hold them accountable.
“Some of these trends, you’ll see they just randomly pop up, so there’s some challenges there but then there’s that those that we know of through social media, so with those we do have local or organizations that we are working with,” said Emmanuel Andre, the deputy mayor of community safety.
Chicago Police Department Supt. Larry Snelling said the department will increase resources in the busiest areas like parks, beaches and downtown. Snelling also talked about how young people need guidance and positive ways to spend their time.
“We’ve seen that people will pull out guns and shoot indiscriminately, and then there are people who are struck and they’re young people who are not only injured but killed,” Snelling said. “One of the things that the mayor mentioned about getting parents getting involved: You need to be involved if you’re concerned about the safety of your child.”
With that in mind, Early Walker, a businessman and philanthropist, has a solution. It’s a text line that parents can opt into to learn about possible big gatherings.
“Do you know where your kids are? If you don’t, here’s what’s going on. And this address, are your kids here? And if they’re here, then you need to get them,” Walker said.
Walker had this text line in place during the summers of 2023 and 2024 and saw success with it. So, he decided to bring it back for this summer and is financing it himself. Around 6,000 parents signed up for it previously.
“I had parents actually on social media in my inbox like, ‘Thank you because we were under the assumption our kids were going to a party’ or ‘our kids are just going to a meetup,'” Walker said.
To opt in, parents should text TeenAlert to 833-671-2367.
