Church Sues Illinois City Over Building Permit Delays

In Cicero, Illinois, a growing Spanish-language Mennonite congregation has filed a federal lawsuit seeking to force the city to process its building permit application and also seeking damages. The complaint (full text) in Sonido de Alabanza v. Town of Cicero, (ND IL, filed 2/18/2009), alleges that the city failed for a year-and-a-half to inform the church of the formal requirements that it submit drawings and a contractor contract in applying for a permit. Instead the city led the Church through a separate process that the Church believed was correct, only to later be told by the Building Department that this was not the appropriate route. The lawsuit alleges free exercise and RLUIPA violations, violations of the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, as well as violations of other of its 1st and 14th Amendment rights. In a press release announcing the filing, the Church said: "Ironically, while the SDA church has experienced two years of delays, a nearby liquor store ... has not only had plans approved but has completed construction and is open for business."