*UPDATE* Sisters of St. Charles Nuns Sue Nearby Strip Club

[DiamondSmiles]

June 17, 2014

STONE PARK, IL (AP) - A convent of nuns in suburban Chicago has filed a lawsuit against a neighbor, a strip club, they say plays throbbing music while the nuns try to pray.

The Sisters of St. Charles named Club Allure Chicago and the Village of Stone Park in their lawsuit filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court. They claim the club violates Illinois zoning laws, which require a 1,000 foot buffer between adult entertainment facilities and places of worship.

The sisters' property in Melrose Park includes three chapels. The strip club opened in the neighboring village of Stone Park in September.

The sisters have seen, "public violence, drunkenness and litter, including; empty whiskey and beer bottles, discarded contraceptive packages and products and even used condoms," according to the lawsuit, which also mentions the, "pulsating and rhythmic staccato-beat noise and flashing neon and or strobe lights," that disturb the nuns.

"Our sisters' sacred space has been invaded," Sister Noemia Silva told the Chicago Sun-Times. "At night now they hear the music when they're praying. That's uncalled for."

The nuns have a right to pray and work peacefully without interference, said attorney Peter Breen of the Thomas More Society, a Chicago-based public interest law firm representing the convent.

Stone Park Village Attorney Dean Krone said the village has acted legally and reasonably. Club representatives said they aren't a nuisance to the nuns and the lawsuit's claims aren't backed up by police reports.

While the Bible says, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," the manager of the club said the nuns are not being very neighborly.

"We spent an awful lot of money to make sure that this kind of thing would not occur," Club Allure manager Robert Itzkow told WMAQ-TV. "The whole thing is just a question of 'we don't like you; you don't conform to our religious beliefs.'"

Itzkow said the club's dancers, "aren't monsters. They're daughters; they're mothers, and some of them are Catholics, too."

The village of Melrose Park and three of its residents joined the nuns in the lawsuit.

"We are violated," neighbor Patricia Zito told WMAQ-TV. "We have a new generation of young families who should not put up with this."

OK. The title cracked me up!

Thank you for the photo, chris!

[ousoonerchic]

Aww..poor nuns

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by ousoonerchic

Aww..poor nuns

I bet at least one was tapping her foot and gyrating!

[Kelseecat65]

This really makes me

[DiamondSmiles]

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Sisters Vs. Strippers: Nuns To Sue Over Strip Club Next Door To Convent

June 18, 2014

Bob Roberts

(CBS Chicago) — A group of nuns say the strip club that opened just over their back fence in Stone Park has to go.

WBBM’s Bob Roberts reports they say the law is firmly on their side.

The nuns, several local residents, and the Village of Melrose Park intend to file suit Friday seeking to shut Club Allure, which is on the Stone Park-Melrose Park border.

About 60 people have joined the nuns at a protest vigil against the strip club Wednesday afternoon. The club, at 3801 W Lake Street, in Stone Park, is literally just over the fence from the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo Scalabrinian Sisters convent and novitiate, at 1414 North 37th Avenue, in Melrose Park.

Their lawyer, Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society, said state law is clear that adult clubs cannot operate within 1,000 feet of a school or house of worship. The nuns have both, and the club is just over their back fence.

Pat Zito is a 47 year resident of the area and is one of the local residents who are joining the nuns in filing the suit. She said Club Allure has been every bit as bad as she feared since it opened last fall, and then some.

“We do not feel as secure as we did before. There is garbage put on the streets that was not there before, things we do not like children to even question, and the noises in the middle of the night,” said Zito.

Screeching tires, loud music even women’s screams. Zito says she never feared men preying on local teens until now. She is joining the Scalabrinian Sisters in filing suit against the club.

Their lawyer says state law is clear that adult clubs can’t operate within 1,000 feet of a school or house of worship. The nuns have both and the club is just over their back fence.

Sean O’Brien, the owner of the strip club, told CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez that he will leave the legal issues to the lawyers but he disputed claims of any rowdy customers.

“I don’t understand why they feel unsafe. I invite anybody that wants to accuse us of being loud and noisy and having lights everywhere to stop back here at 10 o’clock at night and see what you think yourself,” said O’Brien.

The lawsuit also names the Village of Stone Park as a defendant, for allowing the strip club to open in the first place. The nuns hope to put more pressure on Stone Park to close the club by staging vigils every Friday night.

[Kanda444]

hey... strip clubs are close to a place of worship for some. leave people alone.

[DiamondSmiles]

Originally Posted by Kanda444

hey... strip clubs are close to a place of worship for some. leave people alone.

My thought is, if the guys are in the club, they are not the ones out looking for children to molest.