(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – Seventeen years after a legal battle began to prevent a strip club from opening, the leader of west suburban Broadview is declaring victory.
The owner of the proposed Chicago Joe's strip club sued Broadview in 2007, accusing village leaders of violating the owner's First Amendment rights by refusing to approve a business license for the club.
In 2022, Broadview agreed in federal court to pay the owner of Chicago Joe's around $15,000 in damages. This week, a federal appeals court upheld that payment, even though the club's owner had sought millions of dollars.
“We may be small, but we’re very strong and resilient people to stay the course,” Mayor Katrina Thompson tells WBBM Newsradio.
The community spent millions in legal costs, she said, but the court battle shows Broadview would not be forced into allowing a strip club that it didn't want.
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