The Top 10 Dumbest Laws in Chicagoland
There are plenty of ridiculious laws out there. For example, in Virginia it’s illegal for children to go trick-or-treating on Halloween or in Wisconsin, margarine may not be substituted for butter in restaurants unless the customer requests it.
But here are my Top 10 Dumbest Laws in Chicagoland. For more stupid laws check out dumblaws.com.
1. Carry Some Cash. You may be arrested in Chicago for vagrancy if you do not have at least one dollar bill on your person.
2. No Kite Runners Here. Kites may not be flown within Chicago’s city limits.
3. Don’t Hum in Cicero. The city takes a firm stance on humming on public streets. It is prohibited on Sundays.
4. Move that Kenilworth Rooster. (Like they even have roosters in Kenilworth.) But just in case some yuppie couple starts a chicken farm so they can have fresh eggs, be aware: A rooster must step back three hundred feet from any residence in Kenilworth, if he wishes to crow.
5. Don’t Pronounce Joliet Incorrectly. We all butcher names on occassion. But in Joliet (maybe it’s because of all the lovely prison folks) it’s a punishable offense. The town, so sick of hearing its name mispronounced ‘Jolly-ETTE’ which of course everyone knows, (at least since the movie Blues Brothers) that’s it’s pronounced ‘Joe-lee-ETTE’, made pronouncing it Jolly-ette a misdemeanor, punishable by a $5 fine.
6. You Can’t Play Pool in Orland Park. (At Least Not in Public.) No pool tables are allowed in a public establishment, because it supports gambling.
7. Don’t Bowl or Change Clothes in the Car in Evanston. It is unlawful to change clothes in an automobile with the curtains drawn (Oh and we have so many cars with curtains on them.) EXCEPT (Get this) in case of a fire. (Say What?) And apparently bowling is also forbidden in Evanston.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cibi/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
8. Protest Naked, But Only If You’re Under 17. It is legal to protest naked in front of Chicago’s city hall as long as you are the under age of seventeen and have the legal permits.
9. Don’t Plant New Sod and Use Crystal Lake’s City Water. That’s right. It’s against the rules to plant new sod during summer months and use the city’s water to water it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/santoshnc/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
10. Don’t Fish From a Giraffe’s Neck. Since the neck of a giraffe is the most common place to fish, please keep in mind the next time you go to your favorite watering hole… ”It is forbidden to fish while sitting on a giraffe’s neck in Chicago.”
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If I had made this a “Top 12″ List, here are two other factoids that would have made the cut: It is illegal to give a dog whiskey and you can’t eat in a place that is on fire.
What a fun article!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Money Worth, Larry Rogawski. Larry Rogawski said: Amusing! The Top 10 Dumbest Laws in Chicagoland – http://bit.ly/8uJxS – "Kites may not be flown within Chicago’s city limits." [...]
Thanks for a great article, Dawn — I wish I had known about the naked protesting bit years ago!