What Are Chicago’s Oldest Laws?

Looking around Chicago today, you won’t find many stink balls or cannons—but did you know the city has ordinances regulating both? When these laws were first passed more than a century ago, aldermen may have believed they posed a real threat. But today, these old laws don’t seem to make a whole lot of sense. Logan Square resident Ty McCarthy was wondering whether Chicago had any outdated laws on the books. So he asked Curious City: What are some of Chicago’s oldest and weirdest laws? To find some weird laws, we pored over Chicago’s municipal code—which anyone can search online—and pinpointed several ordinances that were passed more than 50 years ago. Click here to view our special presentation featuring nine of Chicago’s most obscure laws.

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