Remember the song from the movie Hustle & Flow, "It's hard out here for a pimp?" Well, it may just get a lot harder for "Johns" in parts of Cook County.
The Cook County Board wants to get tough on the Johns who hire prostitutes in unincorporated Cook County by fining them $1,000, impounding their vehicles and forcing them to do 100 hours of community service.
County Sheriff Tom Dart says the current penalties are too soft -- a $100 fine for solicitation and the ability to get it expunged from your record by taking a 2-hour class -- and it isn't much of a deterrent for repeat offenders.
"We're trying to do something that has not been done before. We're using our brains," Dart told the Sun-Times. "Our experience with prostitution stings shows it's a broken record. [Johns] pay the $100 fine and they're out the door. They take a 2-hour class that expunges everything from their record ... and they're out there again continuing their behavior."
The proposal is sponsored by Commissioners Larry Suffredin and Peter Silvestri.
