City of Des Plaines, Religious Land Use Violation, Illinois 2023

A federal lawsuit has been filed against the City of Des Plaines, Illinois, alleging that it violated the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA) by refusing to allow the American Islamic Center (AIC) to operate a place of worship in a vacant office building it had contracted to purchase.

The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, alleges that the city of Des Plaines imposed a substantial burden on the AIC’s exercise of religion and otherwise discriminated against AIC based on religion when it refused to grant its request for rezoning that would allow it to operate an Islamic place of worship in a vacant office building it had contracted to purchase.

The complaint alleges that the city imposed parking standards and other zoning criteria that were not supported under its zoning ordinance and that it had never imposed on non-Muslim places of worship.

“The ability to establish a place for collective worship is a fundamental protection of the First Amendment and our civil rights laws,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division.

“The freedom to practice the religion of one’s choosing is a precious right in our country,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary T. Fardon of the Northern District of Illinois.

According to the lawsuit, the defendant is the City of Des Plaines. The exact criminal charges are violating the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA). The city and state where the crime occurred are Des Plaines, Illinois.

The date of the crime is not specified in the source. According to the source, the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the city.

There is no sentence or outcome specified in the source. However, the lawsuit is ongoing.

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