Sixteen teenagers were arrested at the Congress Theater Friday night nearly a week after police shut down an unsanctioned rave at the shuttered Logan Square venue.
Officers responded to a call for trespassing around 8:15 p.m. Friday in the 2100 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago police said. When the officers entered the theater, several people tried to flee.
The 16 teens, ages 13 to 19, were each charged with one misdemeanor count for criminal trespassing, according to police. Four were charged with reckless conduct, and two were cited for having pellet guns.
The mass arrest comes after a local DJ held an illegal rave at the theater Aug. 8 that drew several young people, according to Block Club Chicago. Police were called to shut it down, but officers did not arrest any of the attendees.
Plans are in the works to rehabilitate the Congress Theater, which has sat vacant since 2013. With a $25.2-million federal loan and city grants, developers behind the renovation plan to once again make the theater an entertainment venue and add retail, office and residential spaces.
In his weekly newsletter, Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) condemned the rave and said it slowed down the rehab effort.
“Participants did significant damage to the building, substantially increasing the cost of its rehabilitation,” La Spata wrote. The rave also “required police response that distracted from much more important matters.”
La Spata did not immediately reply to a request for comment Sunday.