Arts & Entertainment

Chicago Ready for High-Profile New Year’s Eve Celebration: Mayor, Top Cop

Chicago is ready for the national spotlight on New Year’s Eve with “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” set to broadcast from the riverwalk, Mayor Brandon Johnson said Monday.

But Johnson and Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling warned that officers will be prepared to enforce Chicago’s curfew, which starts at 10 p.m. and applies to everyone 17 years old and younger.

Parents should be certain that they know where their teens are and make sure they have somewhere safe to ring in 2026, Johnson and Snelling said.

The warnings come after 14-year-old Armani Floyd was killed and eight others were injured Nov. 21 during a large gathering downtown after the city’s annual Christmas tree lighting, despite the presence of 700 additional officers downtown.

Johnson told reporters that experience “enhances our determination” not to allow similar violence to take place, saying that incident “set our city back.”

Snelling said additional officers will be deployed across the city, and on the CTA, to make sure celebrations are safe.

“Please know where your children are,” Snelling said. “We’re not going to tolerate any violence.”

Trains and bus rides will be free starting at 10 p.m. Wednesday to 4 a.m. Thursday.

The festivities will take place along the Chicago Riverwalk at Wacker Drive from Wells Street to Lake Street, with a main stage located at Wacker and Franklin, officials said.

The forecast calls for brutally cold temperatures and the chance of snow Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.

Grammy Award-winning artist and Chicago native Chance the Rapper, who will be the show’s Chicago co-host, is expected to take the stage for a countdown performance shortly before midnight.

The event is free and open to the public. Starting at 5 p.m., event entrances, located on Wacker Drive at the corner of Wells or Lake Street, will open.

Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | [email protected]

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