Crusader Staff Report
State Representative LaShawn Ford disagrees with a citation given to the owner of a townhome where a large crowd of young people celebrated at a house party last weekend.
A video of the party was posted on Facebook and has gone viral. The video shows dozens of people crammed into the West Side residence.
Chicago police issued a citation April 27 after Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the gathering, saying it violated the state’s “stay-at-home” order currently in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the partygoers in the video are young and Black.
Lightfoot called the behavior of the partygoers “reckless” and “distressing” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They put themselves at risk, but not only that, every single person there who put themselves at risk puts the next person and the next person that they come into contact with at risk,” she said. “That’s why, for me, that scene is so distressing.”
Governor J.B. Pritzker said, “The whole purpose of social distancing, of wearing masks, of staying at home in fact, is we don’t want to spread this to our loved ones or to others in the community. So I would suggest that all of those people violated not only the intention of the order that we put out but also violated the trust of friends and family.”
In an interview with NBC Channel 5, Ford said he hoped that the owner is not penalized for something her son did.
“The young people should get tested and learn from that mistake that they made,” he said.
The homeowner, a mother, was issued a notice of violation for disorderly conduct, a police spokesperson confirmed.
Ford told NBC 5 that the mother had no idea that her son held the party in honor of someone who had recently been killed.
Lightfoot said earlier this month, she broke up a large underage drinking party on the Far North Side.
Chicago police say that officers were called to the residence just after midnight Sunday morning. Approximately 50 individuals were dispersed from the residence, according to police.
In a statement, Chicago police said they have advised the Chicago Department of Public Health about the incident, and the department plans to follow up on the incident to “ensure any health risks that could have arisen from this party are monitored and mitigated,” according to a statement.
Chicago has been under a stay-at-home order since Pritzker issued the executive order March 14. Nearly 2,000 people have died in Illinois from the coronavirus including 773 in Chicago as of April 27.
https://youtu.be/H_3RbOlndFQ
State Representative LaShawn Ford spoke with Janeal Wright, the young man who hosted the party.
https://www.facebook.com/lashawn.ford.3950/videos/1468659569983279/?fref=mentions&__xts__[0]=68.ARA_S_TtmAs2j6OuuIl9TiYkz-x4ybnm9l64ucNgI3pibd2ur6shi4PdoE9sPofWBgSe22vEIdblB_y3aNzYa51SRwxXQnwuhZZKgJA_ekg1-FEAnqO38epggQKy5MbuHbOmBPPtBD3e7AEf4pQEEu_cDGFn51oIbLKdo3Qu95L6dHrGXJ4R6fvO0-YdzS4VjA0S7ITCECcFoQ8xKNoD1GLomBtuonX_FYb9FmDNHh2y5yUbxPt1uGRph5Isll3EV1fWkBayWxXtFjpcBbg5cwus2qofkemW7zpWcGzr53Iiw7i87HwBj_W1U1HiGvoDGcyscB9Rgl7xlnfd3MZyRaWMvABM6bqOmxJ8Hg&__tn__=K-R
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