CHICAGO (Court TV) — Most television viewers are familiar with the fisticuffs that have become a trademark of "The Jerry Springer Show."

Besides the startling vulgarity and lack of shame of most of Jerry Springer's pugilistic guests, perhaps the most amazing thing about the show is that none of these combatants have been arrested by police officers working as security guards. However, all of that will change if the Chicago City Council has its way.

On Friday, Springer will appear before the Council and reveal, for the record, whether the fights on his show are real or staged.

In April, city council member Alderman Edward Burke said he was disturbed by the program's violence and by the fact that off-duty officers working as security guards on the show had not taken action. The officers later explained their zero arrest record by arguing that they did not know whether the fights were real or staged.

Contending that battery and assault appear to occur regularly on the show, Burke, a former police officer, introduced a resolution urging Chicago police to make arrests whenever fights erupt on "Jerry Springer."

"If the Chicago Police Department is unable to provide some legal justification for why these laws are not being enforced, I will ask my colleagues to urge the immediate and strict enforcement of these laws," Burke told The Daily Southtown in April. "There is absolutely no reason for our city to tolerate a double standard."

Burke's concerns — and police officers' confusion — over "The Jerry Springer Show" led to Springer's scheduled meeting with the Chicago City Council. Burke warned Springer that if the violence on the show is real, then officers will no longer hesitate to make necessary arrests. Off-duty officers, he says, are required under Illinois law to make an arrest or call 911 in cases that need police enforcement.

However, if Springer admits that the fights are staged as part of the show's entertainment, he will have to obtain an entertainment license that would legalize the "violence."

Studios USA, the talk show's owner and distributor, announced recently that it would clean up the program and eliminate the profanity and violence that have made the show more popular than "Oprah".

Studios USA had made a similar vow in April 1998. Although Springer said that he was "not going to buckle" to studio pressure, a "cleaner" Jerry Springer Show did hit the airwaves last year. Ratings dropped, however, and soon afterwards, the chair-swinging and profanity returned.

This year Springer opted not to publicly repudiate Studios USA's promise, and recent editions of the show have been noticeably toned-down. Given lawmakers' plea to the entertainment industry to cut back on violent content in the wake of recent high school shootings, it seems "The Jerry Springer Show" may be violence-free — at least for a little while.

— Bryan Robinson