Regulating Chicago's Adult Businesses
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 11:32 PM

Friend of Vice Squad Sheng Guo brings to our attention the
cover story in Friday's RedEye, a tabloid newspaper associated
with the Chicago Tribune. The story (actually, 5 related stories)
concerns the regulation of adult businesses in Chicago. Continuing
Vice Squad's new "listing" theme, I'll note a few of the points that
I found most interesting...

1. Chicago's adult entertainment industry has downsized since the 1970s,
presumably because of more onerous regulation that frequently takes the
form of local zoning rules. There are six strip clubs in the Chicagoland area.

2. The city of Chicago's zoning rules appear to be aimed at part in
preventing adult-type establishments from clustering: no two such venues
can be closer to each other than 1000 feet; they must also keep 1000 feet
away from schools, places of worship, and residential zones. (Adult toy
stores seem to be governed by looser regulations.)

3. If alcohol is served, a strip club cannot allow full nudity, and even nipples
must be covered.

4. Table dances are the source of most of the income for the performers at
strip clubs. Lap dances are not permitted.

5. Free Speech Coalition, a California-based trade group for the adult
entertainment industry, is forming a local chapter.

Labels: alcohol, Chicago, dancing, sex