Berwyn, IL Curfew Laws: Juvenile Curfew (2026)

Section 660.04 of the Berwyn Code of Ordinances sets the curfew, and the Berwyn Police Department enforces it. "Curfew hours" run in three windows: 10:30 p.m. on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday until 6:00 a.m. the next day; 11:30 p.m. on Friday or Saturday until 6:00 a.m. the next day; and regular school hours on school days when school is in session. A "minor" is anyone under 18, and a "public place" is any place open to the public or a substantial group of it, including streets, highways and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities and shops.

The ordinance creates three separate offenses under division (B). A minor commits an offense by remaining in a public place or on the premises of an establishment during curfew hours. A parent or guardian commits an offense by knowingly permitting the minor to remain, or by insufficient control allowing it. The owner, operator or any employee of a privately owned, for-profit establishment commits an offense by knowingly allowing a minor to stay on the premises.

Division (C) lists defenses: the minor was with a parent or guardian; on an errand for a parent or guardian without detour or stop; in a motor vehicle on interstate travel; working, or traveling to or from work without detour or stop; in an emergency; at or traveling directly to or from a supervised school, religious or recreational activity sponsored by the city, a civic organization or a similar entity; exercising First Amendment rights; or married or emancipated under the Emancipation of Mature Minors Act. An establishment has its own defense if it promptly notified the Police Department that a minor was present and refused to leave.

Division (D) limits enforcement. Before acting, an officer must ask the apparent offender's age and reason for being in the public place, and cannot cite or arrest unless the officer reasonably believes an offense occurred and no defense applies. An officer or school attendance officer can, at discretion, drive a child home, to the school the child usually attends, or to a location designated by school authorities as a receiving center.