City of Chicago v. Festival Theatre Corp.

This appeal concerns the propriety of a permanent injunction issued by the circuit court of Cook County, by which the court restrained the Festival Theatre Corporation and the theater manager, Paul Liang, from presenting obscene live exhibitions. The appellate court held that issuance of the injunction violated the first amendment to the United States Constitution (U.S. Const., amend. I). (88 Ill. App. 3d 216.) We granted the city of Chicago, which had sought the injunction, leave to appeal (73 Ill. 2d R. 315(a)).

The plaintiff, the city of Chicago, filed a complaint for injunctive relief on…