Did you know that Halloween was almost banned in the 1920s? There got to be so much vandalism that things got out of hand. That’s when some folks say the phrase, “Trick or Treats” came into vogue. In otherwords, give me a treat.

That didn’t surprise me, because I’m from Michigan where Devil’s Night happens. Before it was called Devil’s Night, it was Mischief Night, when people played pranks on people, mostly Toilet-paperinging houses, and smashing pumpkins, waxed windows, or maybe a bed moved into a road. But somewhere around the 1940s things moved into arson and vandalism: abandoned houses set on fire, cars turned over.

This is us, celebrating Halloween with our annual burning of last year’s Christmas Tree.

I moved myself and my four kids to the Chicago area in the late 1980s. Stories of Devil’s Night bugged-eyed my kids’ friends.

Our eyes are bugged-eyed by a whole different type of terror on our streets. Last weekend, children in an upscale neighborhood got tear-gassed while they were on their way to a Halloween.

“So you had folks who were literally out on the street taking their kids to this Halloween parade when this happened,” he said. “I didn’t see anybody make physical contact with these agents. I didn’t see anybody do anything that justified, for instance, taking my 70-year-old neighbor to the ground.”

The agents left the neighborhood after about 30 minutes, and the Halloween parade proceeded-but with many families opting to stay home.

Governor Pritzker of Illinois asked for a reprieve of “Operation Midway Blitz” for the weekend. For the safety and security of the children. “Please let children be children for one holiday. Free from intimidation and fear,” the Governor wrote in his letter.