In Blue Island, parents are now officially on the hook when teen takeovers get out of hand.
The City Council voted on June 23 to approve a parental-responsibility ordinance that lets the city seek payment from parents and legal guardians when their kids are involved in disruptive teen gatherings. Municipal departments can bill families for cleanup, repairs and emergency responses tied to those events, and parents can be required to appear in court when a minor is charged. City officials are pitching it as a way to recoup public costs after large, often chaotic youth meetups.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the ordinance allows the city to seek fees for removing graffiti or other defacement, abating a nuisance, administrative processing and legal proceedings to recover those amounts. Recoverable damages are capped at $20,000 for a first occurrence. Parents get 30 days to contest the claim, they can use liability insurance or payment plans, and when several minors cause damage, their parents can be held jointly liable.
What the ordinance changes
The measure amends Chapter 131, “Offenses Against Persons and Property,” after a Committee of the Whole discussion earlier in June. That discussion appears on the committee agenda, according to the City of Blue Island, before the item moved to the full council for a vote…