CHICAGO — Nuns from the Sisters of St. Charles in suburban Melrose Park are fed up over the Club Allure gentlemen’s club.
Nuns in full habits marched to the strip club last June to publicize what the Sisters of St. Charles says is the club’s violation of Illinois’ zoning law that mandates a 1,000-foot buffer zone between adult entertainment facilities and places of worship, as well as schools.
The sisters, in allegations used in an amended complaint filed today at Cook County Circuit, get specific of what goes inside the cavernous 20,000-square-feet club, which abuts their compound. They allege that the strip club is full of “high friction” and a front for prostitution.
“During their interactions with patrons or customers, plaintiffs have determined that Club Allure’s dancers or entertainers engage in direct and immediate physical, high friction full contact with customers’ or patrons’ bodies, and specifically the genital or other sexually sensitive areas thereof, for the purpose of causing sexual arousal or gratification of either or both participants (and/or the arousal or gratification of any other parties who may be participating in an advertised ‘threesome’),” the suit said.
“These close and intimate personal sexual encounters are solicited to take place, and do take place, in secluded private curtained or otherwise shaded or concealed booths which Club Allure obviously designed and intended to be used for said purposes,” the suit said.
The sisters said they want the court to declare the club was wrongfully re-zoned, and ultimately closed.
“All plaintiffs sue and pray, therefore, that this court will find and declare that the operation of Club Allure since late summer 2013 has been in open, blatant, and defiant contravention of the Illinois state law that mandates a 1,000 foot buffer zone between such an adult entertainment facility and places of worship or schools.”
Further, the sisters are asking the court to make a judicial declaration, that “such bodily full contact, including touching or fondling and/or high friction rubbing, as advertised and paid for” constitutes the crime of “prostitution,” within the meaning of Illinois criminal law.
