Romeoville Church Claims Village Violated Religious Acts

A Romeoville church is claiming the Village of Romeoville has violated the federal Religious Land Use, Institutionalized Persons Act and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act by ordering the church to vacate the area because churches are not permitted in a manufacturing zone.

Truth Foundation Ministries, located at 1413 Sherman Road in Romeoville, has been renting the property since 2012, according to a report from the Cook County Record. The church said the location has so far worked well since it’s mainly used on Sundays when surrounding businesses are closed.

According to TFM, the village prohibits churches in the village, unless the church meets a number of “onerous” conditions, such as occupying at least three acres and facing a “Major or Secondary Arterial or a Major Collector (road)… or is contiguous on at least one side to a Business District (street.)” After a church jumps through these hoops, it must then go through the conditional use process for approval, the church asserted. TFM claimed these requirements make it difficult for a church, especially a church of modest means, to exist in Romeoville.

To stop the village, TFM has filed a three-count complaint in the U.S. District Court for Northern Illinois in Chicago and has asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order preventing the village from forcing the church to leave and from prosecuting or fining the church. TFM also wants a judge to declare the village’s zoning code violates the Religious Land Use Act.

TFM is seeking more than $50,000 for each of the three counts, plus attorney fees and other costs.

more via the Cook County Record