By John Dempsey, WLS-AM News

(CHICAGO) A Southwest side alderman wants to punish parents when their children commit gun crimes.  15th ward Alderman Raymond Lopez told “The Big John and Ramblin’ Ray Show” on WLS that parents need to know what their children are doing.

“I don’t this is an overreach at all.  We are going after the parents that are blissfully ignorant to what their children are doing, trying to shake the cobwebs off their parenting skills and get them to start paying attention to their children.”
Lopez says there are simple things parents can do when they suspect their children might be using guns.

“I mean there are certain markers that we can tell like for example if your son or daughter is always walking out of the house with one arm under their armpit like they’re trying to support something maybe you should ask them what they’re holding.  Or if they’re going out in the middle of summer wearing a trench coat, and there’s something two feet long bouncing around underneath their coat maybe you should stop them and ask them.”

There are still many unanswered questions about how Lopez plan would be enforced, but Lopez says guilty parents would be hit with a citation, not a criminal charge.

“The goal isn’t to lock up parents and children and put them together in prison.  The goal is to start breaking the cycle of ignorance and generational gang-tolerance by citing parents and then sending them to family counseling with family and support services so that we can help them become better parents.  Because ultimately that is the goal.”

@ 2017 WLS-AM News