Rising juvenile crime and an increase in unruly summertime gatherings are leading some members of the Peoria City Council to raise some unorthodox ideas to quell the unrest.
Second District council member Chuck Grayeb wants to see if parents or guardians can be held liable for damages caused by minors under the Illinois Parental Responsibility Act.
"The question I have to ask is, when we have all these kids out, 2, 3, 4, in the morning, shooting guns, etc., where are the parents? Where are they?" he asked at Tuesday's council meeting.
Grayeb said kids committing crimes need to face consequences, even if that means holding their parents accountable for their child's actions.
First District council member Denise Jackson also is suggesting bars with 4 a.m. liquor licenses temporarily close earlier to cut down on the number of incidents and gatherings in the overnight hours.
Jackson said something needs to be done until the number of gatherings and pop-up parties begin to subside.
"I think we as a city have to be a little bit more intentional in our efforts. And I'm not advocating shutting down bars, but I think we need to consider all options. Because we're in a situation where we need all hands on deck," she said.
Two people suffered non life-threatening gunshot wounds when multiple fights broke out among a large crowd gathered in the 500 block of Main Street shortly around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday.
At the last council meeting, at-large council member Mike Vespa suggested the city may be able to use its home rule powers to impose stronger punishments.
Grayeb said he's disheartened to see reports of many of the same youths involved in multiple crimes. But he said he's still hopeful Peoria can turn the tide.
"I believe we're at an inflection point, and I do believe we're going to come out of this as a city stronger than ever before," he said.
The city council on Tuesday also approved the final outstanding items for creating the Greater Peoria Auto Crimes Task Force and the Peoria Police behavioral health co-responder unit.
