Water Tower Place Announces New Adult Supervision Rule Following Weekend Disruption
Chicago (CBS) -- Water Tower Place announced a new mandatory adult supervision rule for guests under 18 years old on Friday and Saturday evenings.
The Parental Guidance Required program will begin this Friday and requires anyone age 17 and under to be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult who is at least 21 years old after 4 p.m.
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"In an effort to eliminate disruptive behavior by unsupervised youth, we made the difficult decision to implement a curfew program at Water Tower Place," said Mitch Feldman, senior general manager of Water Tower Place. "All are welcome at Water Tower Place and at any time. We simply require that during certain weekend hours, families shop together and guests under 18 are accompanied by an adult."
Last Saturday, a disruptive group caused stores at Water Tower Place to close an hour early as a precaution.
Water Tower Place will be closing at 8pm tonight due to mob action by large crowds of juveniles #ChicagoScanner
— Alderman Hopkins (@AldermanHopkins) December 30, 2018
Ald. Brian Hopkins is supportive of the new security program.
"We are fully supportive of our community partner and commend their decision to enforce a PGR Program," Hopkins said. "We believe this will help benefit the entire community."
Representatives for Water Tower Place say that after 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, public safety officers will be stationed at entrances to check IDs of visitors who appear to be 17 years old or younger. Those who cannot provide a valid photo ID showing they are at least 18 years old must be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult in order to stay at the shopping center.
One adult may accompany up to four youths and must remain with them while at the center. There is no limit for the number of children 10 years old and younger one adult can accompany.
Anyone who can provide identification proving they are 18 and older will be offered a wristband to wear. Those who choose not to wear the wristband may be asked for ID again by safety officers while they are at Water Tower Place.
Valid identification includes a state-issued driver's license or ID card, a military ID, a school ID card or a passport. The identification must be tamper-proof and include a photo and date of birth.
Starting at 3 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, Water Tower Place will make announcements about the security measure. After 4 p.m., public safety officers inside the shopping center will ask individuals who appear to be underage or are not wearing wristbands for identification.