The village of Wadsworth, Illinois has granted a temporary occupancy permit so that Cornerstone Community Church can continue to use its new building even though landscaping has not been completed, according to a release yesterday from the Alliance Defense Fund. Earlier this month the village board voted to support an order from village President Ken Furland requiring that landscaping, required by the church's special use permit, be completed. This had the effect of reversing informal permission to begin using the building given by the village's inspector. The city's order threatened cancellation of today's memorial service for for Staff Sergeant Edward G. Davis III who died in April while serving in Iraq. The village relented only after a federal lawsuit was filed claiming that the village's action infringed the church's First Amendment rights and the protections granted by RLUIPA. (Full text of complaint.)
The Associated Press report on the controversy earlier this week had a somewhat different slant. It quotes village officials as saying that there has been a long series of attempts by Cornerstone Community Church to get around the village's permit requirements.
