On November 12, 2014, Sonoko Tagami sued the City of Chicago alleging that section 8-8-080 of the city's municipal code is impermissibly vague, representing an unconstitutional infringement on her First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

Titled "Indecent Exposure or Dress," the ordinance prohibits women from exposing to public view "any portion of the breast at or below the areola." Women are required to cover their breasts with an "opaque covering." The ordinance does not prohibit men from being topless in public. Tagami was issued a notice of ordinance violation on August 24, 2014 when she was participating in "Go Topless Day," an annual event where women go topless in public to express their view that women, like men, should not be prohibited from appearing bare-chested.

In order to comply with Chicago's indecent exposure ordinance, Tagami and other protesters had painted their breasts to satisfy the ordinance's "opaque covering" requirement. Nevertheless, she was issued a notice of ordinance violation and ultimately found liable by an administrative law judge in the city's Department of Administrative Hearings. She was fined $100 and ordered to pay $50 in costs.

Tagami's lawsuit seeks the reversal of the ruling, a declaratory judgment that the ordinance is facially unconstitutional, and compensatory damages from the city and Chicago Police Officer Ramona Stovall, the officer who issued the notice. For the rest of the story, read Matthew Hector's article in the January Illinois Bar Journal.