<p>When the television or radio news anchors utter the words, <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/05/24/cpd-officers-hurt-near-west-side-gathering" >“teen takeover,”</a> my mind immediately fills with lurid visions of dozens of children running helter-skelter through Downtown Chicago and the lakefront areas. This usually takes place once some ill-meaning “influencer” puts out the call over social media to the masses of gullible adolescents who foolishly obey the siren call to assemble.</p><p>Since I worked as a reporter for WGN-TV for almost 50 years, covering countless demonstrations, protests, gang disputes and marches, I can easily visualize these disruptive gatherings and envision how the galvanizing forces within the crowds cause the young folks to run aimlessly down the streets. The teens resemble a giant flock of sparrows, swooping through the sky, following one lost leader, then jerking away to trail another blind front flyer with no idea what they are doing, where they are going or why they are there.</p><p>Many of these rowdy gatherings turn antisocial.