Forest Park Mayor Wants To Ban Saggy Pants

By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 11, 2014 10:35PM

Let’s be honest: sagging pants have managed to outlast nu-metal, Beanie Babies and bell bottoms; for better or worse, they’re here to stay. So when a suburban town—like Evanston in 2010—goes all in on being a nanny state we ask if they have more pressing issues to tackle.

The latest suburb to take on the sagging pants scourge is Forest Park, where Mayor Anthony Calderone proposed amending that burg’s “indecent conduct ordinance” to include pants worn far below the waist at a village board meeting.

Calderone’s sartorial role models seem to be local meteorologists. When questioned by the Tribune about why he wants to ban the sag, he answered:

"When a majority of journalists, particularly weather newscasters on TV — when I see them with their pants halfway down, then I will believe that it's generally acceptable."

While the image of Tom Skilling and Jerry Taft wearing jeans hanging to their knees and throwback jerseys causes us to smile, their ability to wear a suit should not be Calderone’s primary rationale. Some Forest Park residents, such as Nick Ardinger, feel the proposed amendment is intended to target young people and minorities, and could result in giving village police (even more?) reason to stop and frisk. "Is this really that much of a threat to our village?" Ardinger asked.

Not as much as theft.

Commissioner Chris Harris called the proposal ridiculous and “disturbing.”

Calderone, for what it’s worth, said his sagging pants ban is colorblind, but did note neighboring Maywood—a 74.4 percent black population as of the 2010 Census—has a similar ban and promised to convene a “diversity committee” to discuss the matter further. Forest Park’s village board tabled Calderone’s proposal for the time being.