Chicago-area nuns sue neighboring strip club

STONE PARK, Ill., June 17 (UPI) -- A group of nuns outside Chicago is suing a local strip club, saying the adult venue is an inappropriate neighbor and interferes with their ability to worship.

The Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo Scalabrinians complain that Club Allure is consistently offensive, playing loud music late at night, flashing neon lights, and attracting an unsavory clientele prone to fighting and other disruptive behavior.

"I think most people would find that offensive, to put a strip club next to a home for sisters," said attorney Peter Breen, who is representing the nuns on behalf of the Thomas More Society.

"Strip clubs don't belong next to convents and single-family homes. We are dedicated to standing up for the rights of the Sisters, residents, and the people of Melrose Park, all of whom have been suffering disruption and damage from this strip club in their backyards."

Club Allure is located in an area zoned for adult entertainment, and Stone Park is locally known as a hub for strip clubs. The venue has soundproofed walls and lighting is not directed toward residential properties, according to Robert Itzkow, who used to own Club Allure and is now acting as its attorney.

Itzkow wrote off the notion that the nuns' suit is in the interest of anyone but themselves, telling the Chicago Tribune, "This is an ideological dispute."