Suit Challenges Church Zoning Rules of Illinois Village

The Alliance Defense fund has announced that it filed suit last Thursday against the Village of Hazel Crest, Illinois on behalf of the River of Life Kingdom Ministries challenging the village's zoning rules. The village requires churches to obtain special use permits to locate in residential districts, and requires a variation or text amendment for churches to locate in business districts. Various non-religious uses are permitted on less onerous zoning terms. The federal court complaint (full text) alleges that the discriminatory zoning rules violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act as well as the First and 14th Amendments of the Constitution.