Beach Curfew Extended: The Dark Side of Chicago’s Fourth of July Celebration

On the Fourth of July, Vernell Watkins was grilling out at 31st Street Beach and expressed his displeasure about the upcoming 9 p.m. curfew. He pointed out that the beach was filled with adults over the age of 35 who were enjoying their time with their families without causing any trouble.

Lester Watkins agreed with the 9 p.m. curfew until the situation could be controlled. He mentioned an incident where a young lady stabbed someone recently, on June 30th, a 17-year-old girl stabbed a concealed carry license holder, who then shot her in response. On June 21, a confrontation in a parking lot near the beach led to a couple being killed.

Other incidents included a shootout at 31st Street Harbor, where two people died and multiple individuals were taken into custody. Additionally, two women were shot, one fatally, in a parking lot near the beach. In response to these incidents, the Chicago Police Department increased their presence around the beach, set up fencing and implemented bag checkpoints at the entrance points to ensure safety.

The curfew was put in place due to multiple shootings that occurred near the beach in the last two weeks of June. The local Alderman Lamont Robinson mentioned that the 9 p.m closure would be re-evaluated every day after the holiday to determine if it needed to continue after being initially set for 10 days but reduced to extend only through Monday due to concerns raised by a local business owner about losing profits if they had to close early.