(The Center Square) – State officials have laid out safety plans ahead of Halloween and seek help from the public to help keep children safe.
The plan includes extra law enforcement on the roads during trick-or-treating hours and extended openings of libraries, public schools, and other buildings.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot gave details this past weekend as the city wraps up its Halloween on Monday.
“The Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools, and The Chicago Public Libraries will be hosting several events across our entire city throughout Monday,” Lightfoot said. “These offer festive and engaging ways of keeping kids busy and safe.”
Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown said the city would see a heightened police presence this Halloween.
“When celebrating Halloween, we deploy more officers in our neighborhoods this weekend,” Brown said. “This has been a historical deployment, so no different than this weekend.”
Over the weekend, the city saw numerous people shot, including the deaths of a 17-year-old and a 5-year-old. Lightfoot said the city needs to come together to stop this violence, which up 38% over the last three years, according to CPD statistics.
“The whole city approach that we utilized throughout the summer will be in place throughout this weekend,” Lightfoot said. “I will emphasize again the progress we have made in this city because we have banded together, not because we have placed it all on the backs of our police department.”
Other safety efforts across the state are also being implemented. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul offered tips for parents and urged families to know where they are taking their children to trick or treat.
“With many families planning Halloween activities this weekend, I am encouraging parents, grandparents and guardians to keep their families safe by checking Illinois’ sex offender registry before leaving home,” Raoul said. The registry is online at the Illinois State Police website.
Illinois State Police will be cracking down on driving under the influence as well.
“Don’t let this Halloween turn into a horror-able memory. If someone has been drinking, using cannabis or any other impairing substance, don’t let them trick you into letting them drive,” said Cynthia Watters, Illinois Department of Transportation’s bureau chief of Safety Programs and Engineering. “Instead, let a sober friend or family member treat you to a safe ride home.”
