CHICAGO (CBS) — After Tuesday night’s violence that left seven people dead and 14 injured, and the inability for some to follow the stay at home order, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has placed a 9:00 p.m. liquor purchasing curfew starting Thursday.
“Effective April 9, we are placing a 9:00 pm curfew on liquor sales in Chicago. A liquor curfew will remain in place during Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s stay-at-home order,” Lightfoot said.
The mayor drew attention to the gun violence and how it is affecting efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in the city.
“These actions place additional and unnecessary burden on our hospitals and ICU units. Violence of any kind is never acceptable but the fact that this is especially urgent now as our ability to protect all Chicagoans is being stretched to the breaking point. We cannot allow that to happen and we will not allow that to happen,” Lightfoot added.
The coupling of the gun violence with measures to have people follow the stay-at-home order is what Lightfoot said is necessary to have the liquor curfew. The mayor said that since the stay-at-home order went into effect, more than 2,000 dispersal orders were given in response to large gatherings. Eleven citations were given out that ranged upwards of $5,000.
The stay-at-home order began March 21 and was extended through the end of April.
“We all need food and essentials and brief walks. This is addressing the issue of people going beyond that. People congregating,” Lightfoot said. “Just yesterday, the CPD issued hundreds of dispersal orders. Utterly unacceptable. It’s a burden on resources. We will take further actions.”
