A City Council vote of 3-2 will now make wearing sagging pants illegal in an Illinois city.

Despite objections by city officials, aldermen in Collinsville voted for an ordinance that prohibits pants to sag more than three to four inches below the waistline, officials said Tuesday, July 12.

Known unofficially as the “Saggy Pants Ordinance,” the law comes with hefty fines and penalties. A first offense is punishable by a fine of $100. Second offenders will be fined $300 and could be sentenced to up to 40 hours of community service.

While the council voted in favor of the law, City Manager Bob Knabel voiced an objection, saying he fears police will be distracted from other duties while patrolling streets for people wearing low-riding trousers.

However, according to aldermen, the council voted on the measure because residents are tired of young people parading around the city with their underwear exposed.

“If there is a problem (constituents) want us to address, then it is our responsibility to address it,” Councilwoman Liz Dalton said.

Councilman Mike Tognarelli told officials that police will use good judgment in enforcing the no-sag law and will not be deterred from responding to more serious calls.

Calling the vote a “step backward,” Collinsville Mayor John Miller also objected, saying a law that regulates where a person must wear his or her pants, could set unconstitutional precedent to make certain hair color, tattoos and piercings illegal if they offend people.

“I don’t think anyone has a right to tell anyone how to wear a certain pair of pants,” Miller said. “This country was founded on liberties given to people to be different. If we inhibit that right to be different, we’re obstructing that nature that this country was founded on. People have rights that don’t change just because they live in the city of Collinsville.”

According to Councilwoman Nancy Moss, the law gives the governmental undue power, despite claims that sagging pants is an outward indication of gang affiliation.

“Does anyone really want government telling you what you can wear and not wear?” Moss said. “We want to be a progressive and diverse community. What I’m hearing is, ‘We want to be diverse as long as I think it’s OK.’ To me, that is not true diversity.”

Collinsville is not the city to prohibit sagging pants. Others, such as the St. Louis suburb of Pine Lawn, Mo., have similar laws. In Pine Lawn, saggy pant-wearers are fined up to $500. If offenders are minors, their parents can be sentenced to 90 days in jail. 

Also a St. Louis suburb, Collinsville spans Madison and St. Clair counties in Illinois. It is the home of the world’s largest ketchup bottle and widely considered the horseradish capital of the world.

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