Illinois Town Wants To Outlaw Eye-Rolling

Next time you’re in line at the grocery store and you roll your eyes at the person with two carts full of items refusing to leave the 10-items-or-fewer line, you might be in trouble with the law — at least if you live in Elmhurst, Illinois. Officials of the Chicago suburb are looking into finding a way of putting an end to the practice by legal means.

The idiocy stems from a recent city council meeting where an Elmhurst resident was ejected from the room after rolling her eyes in reaction to something that was said by a council member.

Members of the Elmhurst city council have asked the City Attorney to look into the creation of a “disturbance and disorderly conduct” violation and to see if eye-rolling could somehow be shoehorned into its definition.

Illinois state law defines disorderly conduct is “an act in such unreasonable manner as to alarm or disturb another, or to provoke a breach of the peace.”

While she apparently is against a prohibition on eye-rolling, the Elmhurst citizen who was booted from the meeting says she’s all for having a definition of disorderly conduct in the city’s books.

“I’d like for them (city officials) to have a better understanding of the open meetings act and its meaning and to understand what disorderly conduct is,” she explained.

As for the City Attorney, who is slated to report back to the council on his findings on Jan. 26, he seems doubtful that rude behavior at a city council meeting should be an issue for law enforcement.

“It’s not in any way a punishable offense by a fine,” he said. “It’s a matter of decorum.”

What do you think: At what point does eye-rolling and such behavior cross the line and become something that could be considered disorderly conduct?

Elmhurst considers violation for eye-rolling [Triblocal.com]

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