The suburbs that offer trees, soccer fields and easy parking have come of age, and from the Fox Valley to the North Shore, sex is for sale with a new and striking boldness. Today, advertisements for such adult-rated fantasy are no longer banished to the pages of alternative publications, either. Instead, they compete in larger-than-life fashion with other roadside signs that promote nothing more racy than fast-food and oil changes. Meanwhile, despite strongly worded protests from civic leaders nervous about the effect on family values, and the warnings of law enforcement officials that an expansion of the sex industry amounts to an invitation for crime to flourish, the aggressive growth of adult entertainment has proven difficult to stifle.
A number of municipalities are mounting challenges, however, most commonly in the form of special zoning and liquor ordinances. Dave Fisher, commander of the vice department. The phone numbers or addresses place the massage parlors in towns all over the Chicago area map and into Indiana. Add topless waitresses, strip-o-grams, adult video and book stores, and the suburbs take on a new look.
To the frustration of many suburban residents, many of these businesses are legal. The fantasy clubsโlike Capri in Westmont, G. However, some municipalities are now scrambling to crack down on vice activity, or at least to provide a hostile business environment for such enterprises. The suburban towns canโas Chicago and other major cities have doneโuse zoning and liquor ordinances to restrict the location of the adult businesses and the amount of nudity.
Typically, the towns create special zoning ordinances to restrict such businesses to industrial areas. And they use liquor ordinances to prohibit nudity or partial nudity or any entertainment at all in a business where alcohol is served. Some towns like Calumet Cityโwhich is being sued by a video storeโare hurrying to create laws after a sex-related business has already moved into town.
Others, like Park Ridge, which in December created a new license for sexually oriented businesses, are trying to get their books in order before any such businesses apply to get in. Perhaps the most visible businesses are the massage parlors, which usually show up in storefronts and then relocate quicker than a speeding patrol car.
