MIDLOTHIAN--It appears baggy pants are safe.
Village officials have decided not to adopt an ordinance that would ban droopy pants, and the resultant display of skin, in the village.
This summer, Lynwood enacted a law that imposed a $25 fine on anyone showing three inches or more of their underwear in public. Midlothian was considering becoming the second town in Illinois to have such a law.
Officials in Sauk Village are also considering a similar law prohibiting "wearing pants below the hip and showing underwear," but are awaiting the outcome on a similar case before the Illinois Supreme Court.
Midlothian Police Chief Vince Schavone said village officials had abandoned the idea, but he gave no reason why the decision had been made.
Critics of saggy-pants laws, such as the American Civil Liberties Union, say such laws unfairly target young men of color who often sport the hip-hop-inspired fashion.
Despite an initial uproar in Lynwood, police officials there said parents have enthusiastically supported the fashion crackdown, though few tickets have been issued.
Schavone said that after the proposal was made public, many Midlothian residents called in, and "the calls were positive for [the ordinance]."
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