Teen Curfew Law

1. Teen Curfew Law Civic Action Project Andrea M. and Natalie S.

2. Illinois’ Current Curfew: • Sunday-Thursdays the curfew is 10 p.m. - 6 a.m. • On Fridays and Saturdays the curfew is 11 p.m. - 6 a.m. • If you are driving past curfew then your license is considered invalid. •  If you are ticketed for a curfew violation your license or permit may be suspended.

3. Other State’s Curfews: • New York: does not have a curfew. • Michigan: Midnight- 5am. • Iowa: If your 16 or 17, you can not drive after 12:30 • Ohio: The curfew is from 1-6 a.m.

4. Problems with Illinois’ Current Curfew: • Causes accidents due to student speeding to get home • Some work hours require students to be out past their curfew. • If there is a need to make a late night errand for a loved one that is not able to, we’re not able to legally do that.

5. Changes We Would like to make to the Current Curfew: • We think that the curfew should be pushed back an hour on both weekdays and weekends. • We would like to modify the existing policy, and have the law changed by summer 2010. • We feel like changing the curfew will limit the number of accidents caused by speeding.

6. City Curfew Changes: • Through research we found that the curfew in the state of Illinois is 12am. Due to this research we realized to keep this a city issue the latest we could extend our curfew to is 12am. If we extended it past this time, we would be addressing a state not city issue.

7. Evidence of Later Curfew Having Positive Results: • Michigan: Overall crash risk for 16 year-olds was reduced by 25% in 1999 compared to 1996.  Risk of a night-time crash was 53% lower in 1999 vs. 1996 while risk of a crash during daytime hours was 24% lower (net 29% reduction in risk attributed to nighttime restrictions)

8. Constitutional Proof: • One possible perspective on curfew laws is their effects on the rights of young people and their families. Teenagers and young children are recognized as citizens by the Fourteenth Amendment, which states that: -“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” (Constitution)

9. Outcome of an unmodified curfew: If this curfew is not modified we predict that there will be: - More accidents as a result of speeding -Teens will continue to be dishonest and find new, alternative, unsafe, ways to rebel against there parents. -Insurance rates will continue to go up due to the number of accidents increasing.

10. Who to Contact: • Wheaton City Hall, 630-260-2000 • Address: 303 W. Wesley St. • Mailing Address: P.O. Box 727, Wheaton, IL 60187 • Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday- Friday

11. How to become an effective citizen: • Two skills of effective citizens: How to follow the laws, research government policies. • Two attitudes of effective citizens: Want a better America, Have personal beliefs. • Two areas of knowledge of an effective citizen: Current events, foreign affairs. • Two actions of effective citizens: protesting, discuss issues.

12. How we became effective citizens: • Through the civic action project we were able to exchange our ideas with others on a specific issue. Through collaborative research we were able to put all of our ideas and others ideas in use to make a difference or at least put the word out there about our issue with the teen curfew.