PARK RIDGE, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Park Ridge is asking its City Council to amend the municipal code, specifically a chapter on indecent exposure which prohibits cross-dressing.
“It shall be unlawful for any person to appear in a state of nudity or in any indecent or lewd dress or condition in any public place or in any such place to make any indecent exposure of his or her person or private parts thereof or the private parts of another or to conduct himself in a lewd or lascivious manner or to appear in any such place in a dress not belonging to his sex," the chapter reads.
“It's dated wording,” said City Clerk Sal Raspanti. “The wording is over a 100 years old.”
Raspanti, who was elected in May of this year, learned of the problematic language following an inquiry from the Park Ridge Herald-Advocate.
“As soon as I caught wind of it, I followed up with the City Manager's office and had them pull up the ordinance and verify what I heard was accurate,” Raspanti said. “And within the same day, we made an effort to put it on the agenda for tonight's [council] meeting.”
The agenda includes a first reading of the recommendation, which asks the cross-dressing portion be removed from the indecent exposure ordinance.
Raspanti’s main criticisms are that the ordinance isn’t enforceable and that it violates the Illinois Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on the way a person dresses based on their gender identity.
Park Ridge Council is expected to make a final vote by the end of this month.
“We're always appreciative of these things being brought to our attention. You know, we try to be as proactive as possible,” added Raspanti.
Other suburbs, including Elk Grove Village and Brookfield, are also in the process of repealing outdated laws prohibiting people from wearing clothes of the opposite sex in public.
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