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Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Editorial: Mayor Brandon Johnson should not veto snap curfews
On Wednesday, Chicago's City Council passed by a vote of 27-22 an ordinance authorizing so-called 'snap curfews,' meaning that Chicago police will have the authority to get teenagers off the streets if they sense trouble is brewing. In essence, police Superintendent Larry Snelling would have the power to impose curfews in specific public areas within Chicago where large, unpermitted teen gatherings are beginning, or expected soon to form. The idea is that police officers would be able to tell those already assembled that they have 30 minutes either to go home or take a walk with just a couple of friends elsewhere. Mayor Brandon Johnson blasted the ordinance approved by a clear majority of aldermen and said he planned to issue a rare mayoral veto (the first since 2006, the Richard M. Daley era) in coming days. He should rethink that idea. We're aware of arguments against giving the police this power, especially given our long-standing interest in guarding civil liberties. We've been concerned about a couple of kids being inside a movie theater, for example, only to walk out onto the street without knowing about any curfew and then finding themselves in conflict with the police. We're also of the view that law-abiding teens must be welcomed downtown and that there is nothing illegal in gathering with friends on a warm summer's night, shooting the breeze. That's why we were against making the existing 10 p.m. curfew for Under 17s any earlier, and why we applaud Jahmal Cole, founder and CEO of 'My Block, My Hood, My City,' who is planning to bring over 1,500 teens, primarily from the South and West sides, into the business and cultural districts of downtown Chicago on July 19 for what he calls 'a day of exploration, belonging and new opportunities.' This will be the third year the nonprofit organization also known as M3 will have chaperoned an initiative powered by donors and volunteers; we hear Cole expects to have more participants than ever this year. The plan is both to make these teens feel like they belong downtown, as they should, and also to start to shift some negative perceptions among downtown business owners and workers. We hope everyone has a great time together. But there is often a tradeoff between civil liberties and crime prevention and, where minors are concerned, protection must come first. If it is handled right, this new police power might actually keep kids safer by pre-empting any trouble before it happens. And to think that there is no danger of such trouble when teens gather en masse downtown is to put your head in the sand when it comes to the lessons of recent history, especially as hot summer nights are upon us. Johnson claimed that the ordinance, introduced by Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), 'is counterproductive to the progress that we have made in reducing crime and violence in our city.' With all due respect, we don't see the merit of that argument. It should be seen as a tool. And let's remember that incidents of violent crime don't just affect tourists or the business district — they're usually worse for the kids caught up in any melee. No parent or grandparent wants a teen to get stuck around a group of hot-headed peers who might encourage them to do things they later have cause to regret and that impairs the progress of their promising young lives. Such scenarios typically terrify a teenager's loved ones. Perhaps most importantly here, the city's aldermen, many of whom represent the impacted families and know their communities very well, are telling the mayor loud and clear that they this protection, not just for folks downtown but for the kids themselves. And the vote would suggest that these aldermen of the majority, such as Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), trust Snelling to guard against any problems, which will mean using the ordinance very sparingly, offering as much advance notice as possible and focusing on de-escalation. Snelling already has said in several interviews that he will commit to that. Good. And if no snap curfew is ever needed this summer, all the better. Still, whatever his ideological misgivings or sense of being personally affronted, the mayor would be wise to listen to the City Council and add this ordinance to the police's toolbox for keeping everyone safe.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rick Kogan: To bet or not to bet? A Chicago sportswriter talks of the dangers of gambling.
CHICAGO — At lunchtime earlier this week, Lester Munson could be found at Wrigley Field, not on the field but nearby, standing in front of a massive facility on the stadium's southeast corner that has become an active part of the ballpark and, to hear Munson tell it, a dangerous place. It is called the DraftKings Sportsbook, and it was a very strange place to find this journalist and attorney because he is among the most passionate anti-gambling voices in this increasingly wagering country. 'I have been a lifelong fan of the Cubs, and instead of the team entering into a business deal with DraftKings I'd rather the team would spend its money on a pitcher or a power hitter,' said Munson, explaining how the Cubs and most other teams in the NBA, NHL, NCAA and other sports leagues have entered into financial partnerships with sports betting operations. He will tell you that he has never been a gambler, but that he understands addiction and has seen its victims. He is from a time when people might make a bet with their local bartender, the guy running the newsstand, at the track. It may have been illegal but it took place in society's shadows. 'Who gets hurt?' was the attitude. Then came horse racing, Vegas, Atlantic City, lotteries … I've tasted them all. That all changed in May 2018, when the Supreme Court declared that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, which had essentially limited sports gambling to one state, Nevada, for the preceding 25 years, was unconstitutional. That left states free to chart their own courses for sports gambling. Most took advantage, with 38 states and Washington, D.C., offering sports betting, with other states awaiting legislation that would allow for sports gambling and casinos. 'Many warn that legalized gambling will change the nature of all sporting events,' Munson said. 'Now teams are partnered with large betting outfits — DraftKings and FanDuel among the most prominent — in business deals and politicians have been blinded by dreams of revenue.' Munson has been talking about this in front of gatherings of such local organizations as the Wayfarer Foundation, The Fortnightly of Chicago women's club, and the Montgomery Place retirement facility in Hyde Park. Earlier this month, he delivered a lively, enlightening and more than a bit alarming talk titled 'The Menace of Sports Gambling' at a First Friday Club of Chicago luncheon at the Union League Club in the Loop. (This venerable series of talks featuring authors, newspaper folks, politicians and newsmakers was created by John Cusick, the retired priest from Old St. Pat's; next up is Jahmal Cole from My Block, My Hood, My City.) 'Gambling is uncontrolled and unregulated,' Cusick told me after Munson's talk. 'We are reminded anywhere sports gambling is advertised or promoted, and you needed to be 21 to gamble. But with a cell phone in your hand and a myriad of websites from which to choose, a 9-year-old can make wagers. Imagine the addiction that soon will be in our midst and in our families.' Even those who know Munson are impressed by the details of his long and energetic career, which include growing up in Glen Ellyn; graduating from Princeton University; working as a news reporter for the bygone Daily News; earning a law degree from the University of Chicago; practicing law and serving as president of the DuPage County Bar Association; joining the staff of The National Sports Daily, more commonly referred to simply as The National, an ambitious sports-centered newspaper, which bled money during its brief life (January 1990 to June 1991). He became a senior writer/legal analyst at Sports Illustrated and then ESPN and and was a frequent guest on radio and TV. He was a semi-regular on that cigar-smoke choked 'Sportswriters on TV,' which had started as a WGN radio show in 1975 before moving to television a decade later with sportswriters Bill Gleason, Bill Jauss, Rick Telander and Ben Bentley until 2000. Munson is now a freelance writer. His beat remains the dark side of sports, 'working in the shadows' covering crime, scandals, drugs, violence, money, celebrity, sex, race, gender, greed, court decisions and government actions in the sports industry. As he is in person, his work has ever been incisive, intelligent and engaging. He remains refreshingly frank, saying, 'There is no such thing as a smart bet. … This is an industry based on addiction.' He knows about addiction, telling me that he has been 'sober for 42 years.' He has never been a gambler, 'Never played cards, never pulled a slot machine,' he says. Chicago can claim one of the most infamous scandals in sports history, the Black Sox Scandal of 1919. It has been the subject of many books, such as 'Eight Men Out,' which gave birth to the 1988 film of the same name. In short, it involved eight members of the White Sox being accused of throwing the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for money from a group of gamblers. [The players were Arnold 'Chick' Gandil, George 'Buck' Weaver, Oscar 'Happy' Felsch, Charles 'Swede' Risberg, Fred McMullin, Eddie Cicotte, Claude 'Lefty' Williams and, most famously, 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson.'] A Chicago grand jury indicted the players in late October 1920 and, though all were acquitted in a public trial on Aug. 2, 1921, baseball commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis the next day permanently banned all eight for life from professional baseball. What troubles Munson most is not only the explosive growth of and accessibility of sports gambling but how it targets the most vulnerable, saying, 'It is hard to escape the massive advertising campaign.' 1 trillion dollars a year.'] 'There are now 14 places to legally bet on sports across the state,' he says. 'The numbers are terrifying. Everybody wants in. The focus is on the next bet and while some people can manage their betting there are many, many who become victims, part of a vicious cycle that has them chasing the money they inevitably lose, digging deeper into a financial hole.' He was understandably rocked by the death of his wife of 55 years, Judith, in 2020. He has moved from the western suburbs into the city. He reads five newspapers a day and is in close touch with his two grown sons and their families. He tells me that Americans bet 'close to $119 billion in 2023 and it'll be around $150 billion in 2024.' Then he walked east toward his car. Across the street, an older man was furiously pulling on one of the DraftKings' doors. 'What the hell?' he shouted. I told him the place won't open until 3 p.m. He looked at his watch. It was 1:25 p.m. He shrugged. It was freezing outside but, 'I can wait,' he said. 'I can wait.'
