Illinois Mayor Pushes Anti-Crime Prayer Initiative

Peoria, Illinois mayor Jim Ardis has invited religious leaders to meet with him at a local church to discuss a new initiative against crime called "Ready Set Pray". The Springfield (IL) Journal Register yesterday reported that the mayor will ask clergy to arrange for a different group to pray each day for forty days. Despite a news release that invited "pastors of all church denominations", Ardis said the program is open to members of non-Christian faiths as well. He said he is not concerned about church-state issues because the program is not sponsored or paid for by the city. It is instead a program being undertaken cooperatively with the faith community.