Daley proposes earlier curfew for children under 17

Mayor Richard Daley is proposing a curfew rollback for children under 17 as a way to cut down on youth violence.

Children will have to be off Chicago streets by 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 p.m. on weekends, under the mayor's proposal. That is 30 minutes early that is currently required.

Last year, 24 Chicago Public Schools students were gunned down. Chicago's homicide rate stands at a 40-year low. But, all too many of the 442 murder victims in 2007 were young people.

Aldermen who must approve the curfew change were generally supportive of the rollback proposal. But, some expressed concern for the added burden it would place on police officers.

However, Interim Police Superintendent Dana Starks does not share that concern.

Starks says enforcing the curfew will remove teens from the corners in the black and Hispanic communities where they are being shot dead.