03-07-2010, 03:57 PM
Don't our town leaders understand this is America? Do suspenders lead to less crime :lol: ? Would the beach front enforce this no bum dress code? Lawsuit waiting to happen.
![[Image: no-more-baggy-pants.jpg]](http://rummage.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/no-more-baggy-pants.jpg)
Alderman wants to ban 'pants on the ground'
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2082953,5_1_WA04_WAUKEGAN_S1-100304.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 04.article</a><!-- m -->
March 4, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
Long before Larry Platt and "American Idol" made "pants on the ground" a catch-phrase, various communities looked into regulating the style of wearing pants that sag well below the waistline.
While those attempts have run into some roadblocks, 1st Ward Ald. Sam Cunningham said this week that he would like to see Waukegan enact an ordinance making sure that "young men don't show their underwear" in public.
"It's just crazy. Some of them are just holding their pants up. That makes no sense," Cunningham said at Monday's City Council meeting. "Young men cannot expect to be a City Council member, a mayor, a CEO (or) get a job dressed like that ... I don't know how we get that message across."
While Cunningham's comments drew expressions of support from aldermen Thomas Koncan (2nd) and Gregory Moisio (3rd), Mayor Robert Sabonjian voiced reservations.
"We'll look into it," Sabonjian said, "but it's one of those things where it's tricky."
One city that has already witnessed just how tricky baggy-pants legislation can be is Riviera Beach, Fla., which enacted an ordinance in March 2008 making it "unlawful for any person to appear in public or in view of the public wearing pants below the waist which expose the skin or undergarments."
But the ordinance -- which hit wearers with a $150 fine for a first offense and a possible 60-day jail term for repeat offenders -- was ruled unconstitutional by a Palm Beach County judge last April.
Coincidentally, Waukegan's current ordinance book already touches indirectly on the issue. A provision regarding drivers of vehicles for hire enacted in May 2000 states that a driver "shall be required to wear articles of clothing that are properly fitted to his size, (and) pants shall be worn at the waistline."
Though other municipalities have enacted more specific bans on sagging, attempts at similar legislation have fallen short at the state level in places like Louisiana and Virginia. But Cunningham pointed to recent developments in Tennessee, where lawmakers are moving forward with a statewide ban against pants "below the person's waistline (in) a manner that exposes the person's underwear or bare buttocks."
Cunningham acknowledged that his criticism is going to run afoul of teens who employ the style.
"It's not going to be the most popular thing out there," he said. "For people who think that this is just young black boys (wearing saggy pants), it has no color barrier."
The general discussion prompted Moisio, a teacher and coach at Waukegan High School, to comment on what he sees as a lack of respect for authority among teens.
"I'm at the high school every day, and Ald. Cunningham's right," Moisio said. "We've failed a whole generation of kids because we haven't taught them anything about respect ... We've mollycoddled them and made excuses, (but) that has got to stop."
Moisio added that "the majority of our kids are good kids," and said at another point that "it's not the kids, it's the grown folks ... It takes leaders and adults to correct this (and) set standards of behavior."
While it remains to be seen any saggy-ban proposal advances to the council's Judiciary Committee, Sabonjian tried to bring levity to the situation by poking fun at his own style choices.
"What's that new song -- 'drawers on the floor' or 'pants on the ground'?" Sabonjian said. "It's going to cost me a lot of money to update my wardrobe."
"What's that new song -- 'drawers on the floor' or 'pants on the ground'?" Sabonjian said. "It's going to cost me a lot of money to update my wardrobe."
Alderman wants to ban 'pants on the ground'
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/news/2082953,5_1_WA04_WAUKEGAN_S1-100304.article">http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/news ... 04.article</a><!-- m -->
March 4, 2010
By DAN MORAN <!-- e --><a href="mailto:dmoran@stmedianetwork.com">dmoran@stmedianetwork.com</a><!-- e -->
Long before Larry Platt and "American Idol" made "pants on the ground" a catch-phrase, various communities looked into regulating the style of wearing pants that sag well below the waistline.
While those attempts have run into some roadblocks, 1st Ward Ald. Sam Cunningham said this week that he would like to see Waukegan enact an ordinance making sure that "young men don't show their underwear" in public.
"It's just crazy. Some of them are just holding their pants up. That makes no sense," Cunningham said at Monday's City Council meeting. "Young men cannot expect to be a City Council member, a mayor, a CEO (or) get a job dressed like that ... I don't know how we get that message across."
While Cunningham's comments drew expressions of support from aldermen Thomas Koncan (2nd) and Gregory Moisio (3rd), Mayor Robert Sabonjian voiced reservations.
"We'll look into it," Sabonjian said, "but it's one of those things where it's tricky."
One city that has already witnessed just how tricky baggy-pants legislation can be is Riviera Beach, Fla., which enacted an ordinance in March 2008 making it "unlawful for any person to appear in public or in view of the public wearing pants below the waist which expose the skin or undergarments."
But the ordinance -- which hit wearers with a $150 fine for a first offense and a possible 60-day jail term for repeat offenders -- was ruled unconstitutional by a Palm Beach County judge last April.
Coincidentally, Waukegan's current ordinance book already touches indirectly on the issue. A provision regarding drivers of vehicles for hire enacted in May 2000 states that a driver "shall be required to wear articles of clothing that are properly fitted to his size, (and) pants shall be worn at the waistline."
Though other municipalities have enacted more specific bans on sagging, attempts at similar legislation have fallen short at the state level in places like Louisiana and Virginia. But Cunningham pointed to recent developments in Tennessee, where lawmakers are moving forward with a statewide ban against pants "below the person's waistline (in) a manner that exposes the person's underwear or bare buttocks."
Cunningham acknowledged that his criticism is going to run afoul of teens who employ the style.
"It's not going to be the most popular thing out there," he said. "For people who think that this is just young black boys (wearing saggy pants), it has no color barrier."
The general discussion prompted Moisio, a teacher and coach at Waukegan High School, to comment on what he sees as a lack of respect for authority among teens.
"I'm at the high school every day, and Ald. Cunningham's right," Moisio said. "We've failed a whole generation of kids because we haven't taught them anything about respect ... We've mollycoddled them and made excuses, (but) that has got to stop."
Moisio added that "the majority of our kids are good kids," and said at another point that "it's not the kids, it's the grown folks ... It takes leaders and adults to correct this (and) set standards of behavior."
While it remains to be seen any saggy-ban proposal advances to the council's Judiciary Committee, Sabonjian tried to bring levity to the situation by poking fun at his own style choices.
"What's that new song -- 'drawers on the floor' or 'pants on the ground'?" Sabonjian said. "It's going to cost me a lot of money to update my wardrobe."
"What's that new song -- 'drawers on the floor' or 'pants on the ground'?" Sabonjian said. "It's going to cost me a lot of money to update my wardrobe."