Oh To Be a Kid Again in Chicago

Mayor Emanuel

With news of an 8:30 pm curfew in Chicago on weekdays and a 9:00 pm curfew on the weekends for the under 12 set, I am glad I am NOT a kid again in Chicago. While 8:30 will be after dark by mid-September when the law takes effect, I can't think of anything more horrible for a kid to be required to be in his or her house before dark in the summer. All of us kids stretched out that at home "by dark" parent-imposed curfew in the long days of summer, and as I recall it wasn't really dark until about 9:10 pm or a few minutes later in late June and early July. That old-fashioned pastime of catching fireflies won't even be a possibility with harsh new rules imposed by Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago City Counsel, that are more reminiscent of a war zone than rules for a city. Didn't they have these curfews in cities for persons deemed undesirable in days long ago?

I do recall the imposition of an unusually early curfew following the burning of Chicago's South Side in 1968. and I and my friends felt very restricted indeed in our very safe little neighborhood. However, after a few days, we realized that there were no police in our neighborhood at all, so we dashed about quickly from house to house in the evening, and managed to stay out of trouble. Luckily, our parents seemed to have no opinion on the matter, so we ended up visiting our friends without any problem at all.