Chicago Suburb That Blocked Mosque To Pay $580K To Muslim Group
By Stephen Gossett in News on Jun 7, 2017 5:10PM
In reassuring news for religious liberty, a Chicago suburb will pay $580,000 to a Muslim group after the city's aldermen blocked their attempt to open a mosque, in 2013.
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that a settlement had been made after the City of Des Plaines denied a rezoning application that would have allowed the Muslim group The Society of American Bosnians and Herzegovinans to open a mosque in vacant building.
The DOJ had filed a complaint in 2015 that alleged Des Plaines discriminated against the Muslim organization on ground of religion or religious denomination and said the city "departed from its normal practices and procedures" when it denied SABAH its rezoning proposal, by a vote of 5 to 3. The city's refusal also "imposed a substantial burden" on the group's ability to practice its religion and treated the group unfairly compared to nonreligious entities, including a school and a cultural center, the DOJ said on Tuesday.
The settlement resolved the DOJ's complaint and a lawsuit that had been put forth by the Muslim group.
“Religious freedom is a fundamental right, and we will not tolerate the unlawful use of zoning or land use restrictions to infringe on that right,” said Joel R. Levin, Acting U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois in a DOJ press release. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to safeguard the rights of religious groups to establish houses of worship without fear of discriminatory zoning or land use practices."
The agreement also states that Des Plaines will train employees on the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 and make public its non-discrimination policies.
The $580,000 figure was announced at a press conference that included the Council on American-Islamic Relations and SABAH's attorney, Anthony J. Peraica.
Aldermen had previously argued that the refusal to grant the rezoning request was a public safety and traffic concern and said it would negatively impact manufacturers in the area, according to WGN.