Nuns sue neighboring strip club
A group of nuns in Stone Park, Illinois, have sued a neighboring strip club in an effort to shut down the establishment.
The suit (PDF), which also names the village of Stone Park, claims the club is operating in violation of a state law that requires a 1,000-foot buffer zone between adult entertainment facilities and houses of worship, report the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times.
The strip club qualifies as an adult entertainment facility, the suit says. Internet descriptions and advertising “give ample cause to believe that the club features many scantily clad, nude or partially nude dancers and other entertainers, both male and female.”
The club blares loud music and flashes bright neon lights until dawn, the suit says. Strewn outside are empty liquor bottles, discarded contraceptive packages and even used condoms.
The suit also claims the club is a common-law nuisance, and the village violated the nuns’ due-process rights by changing zoning for the club without notice to them.
Stone Park officials have said the village mistakenly sent notice to a wrong address for the nuns listed in Cook County property records. The village allowed the project to resolve a lawsuit filed by the developers against the village.
Updated at 5:31 p.m. to note that the nuns also named the village of Stone Park in their lawsuit.
