WHEREAS, Large groups of individuals riding motorcycles and other unauthorized vehicles swarm area highways and side streets (often with little warning) for thrills and exhibitionist stunts; and
WHEREAS, Because riders perform for the sheer pleasure of defying authority, it makes their actions both harder to predict and tougher for police to curtail; and
WHEREAS, Riders often spread word of upcoming gatherings via social media platforms and post videos of their highway stunts and run-ins with law enforcement on the Internet; and
WHEREAS, Police in countless jurisdictions across the country say they have trouble stopping the bikers, because their bikes are so fast and maneuverable that it's unsafe to chase them through traffic; and
WHEREAS, Some police agencies have gone as far as enacting strict no-pursuit policies for the bikes because of the high risk to public safety; and
WHEREAS, While law enforcement does not deem these groups of bikers as rooted in a particular neighborhood or involved in a particular criminal enterprise, their "mob mentality" has resulted in various crimes, including the assault of motorist in New York; and
WHEREAS, It is the Chicago Police Department's obligation to protect its citizens from unruly motorcycle and bike stunt-riding groups and get a handle on this growing problem in a manner that is aligned with national best practices; now, therefore.
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this sixteenth day of October 2019, do hereby call upon the City Council Committee on Public Safety to convene a hearing concerning the plans of both the Chicago Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management Communications to address the hundreds of motorcycles riding through the City of Chicago, and to hear strategies from the Office of Emergency Management Communications and the Chicago Police Department on how they plan to thwart unruly motorcycle/and bike stunt-riding groups to ensure public...
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