CHICAGO, July 7 (UPI) -- Some Chicago officials say an earlier curfew for kids under the age of 12 would rein in "unsupervised" children.
Public Safety Committee Chairman Michelle Harris and Alderman Toni Foulkes proposed the revised curfew, which would require kids under 12 to be inside by 8:30 p.m. weekdays and 9 p.m. weekends, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
The curfew is necessary because some parents aren't taking their responsibilities seriously, the report said.
"We're at a point where we have to be more conscious of where our children are," said parent Toseima Jiles, 33, of Hyde Park. "When I was growing up, your parents knew where you were, the neighbors knew where you were. … I think we're getting away from that."
Others criticized the plan as more government meddling.
"It's an attempt for the City Council to parent," said Karen Hobbs, 47, mother of a 3-year-old. "It's up to parents to parent. I don't think setting an arbitrary curfew at different ages is going to solve the problem."
Two years ago, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley turned back the curfew clock by 30 minutes, to 10 p.m. weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends for the city's 730,000 children under the age of 17.
