SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  (IRN) - A bill that got a lot of publicity – and a fair share of ridicule – when it was introduced has unanimously passed the Illinois Senate. It’s a tax on strip clubs. The money would go to rape crisis centers.

The club owners would pay an annual fee equal to either three dollars per customer or an amount based on gross receipts: $5,000, $15,000, or $25,000 if the revenue is, respectively, less than $500,000, between $500,000 and $2 million, and more than $2 million.

“This is one of those things that is a user fee attached to people who partake. It’s not a general tax increase, but it was the safest way we thought we could answer a problem that absolutely falls at our feet,” said the sponsor, State Sen. Toi Hutchinson (D-Olympia Fields).

Clubs where alcohol is not permitted are exempt.

Copyright ITN