Roman Catholic nuns who sued the Village of Stone Park earlier this year for allowing a new strip club to open adjacent to their convent – in violation of state law, they claim in their lawsuit – have new worries: The possibility of yet another adult-entertainment venue opening within 1,000 feet of their property.
The Better Government Association and NBC 5 have learned the owner of the Noa-Noa nightclub – located a stone’s throw from the Missionary Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo convent, and the Club Allure strip club that opened in 2013 – has circulated a proposal to convert Noa-Noa into a “gentlemen’s club and steakhouse” affiliated with the skin magazine Penthouse.
If you don’t see the video above, click here and watch it on NBC5.
That would mean three adult venues along Lake Street (the third is a strip club called Scores at Mannheim and Lake) in Stone Park near the convent and a cluster of homes.
Attorneys for the nuns say state law bars such businesses from 1,000 feet of places of worship.
Stone Park municipal leaders, however, say the state law is unconstitutional as applied to their western suburb.
Noa-Noa’s owner, Perry Orr, initially told the BGA the adult concept for the site was not “set in stone,” just one idea for the property.
On Monday, Orr told NBC 5 the gentlemen’s club plan was all but dead because of a lack of money.
Either way, Stone Park’s village attorney said Orr had the proper licenses and could have opened the gentlemen’s club – to be called “Caligula” – without the village’s interference.
Here are related stories previously reported by the BGA and its media partners:
Nuns Officially File Lawsuit Against Strip Joint
Demonstrators Target Stone Park Village Board Over Proposed Strip Club
Legal Issues Confront Strip Club Near Nuns
Really? Suburban Strip Club Getting Built Next To Convent
This story was written and reported by the Better Government Association’s Robert Herguth and Patrick Rehkamp, and NBC 5’s Phil Rogers and Katy Smyser. They can be reached at rherguth@bettergov.org or (312) 821-9030.
