In a key appeals court hearing concerning Illinois' restrictions on churches, the Office of the Governor refused to commit to leaving churches alone, opening the door for more draconian measures against our clients. Read on to learn about the arguments before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit on Friday afternoon. - Mat

Fund the fight to save our churches - select here or the button below

The Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois was asked twice Friday by the judicial panel of the 7th Circuit whether Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker would never again restrict or ban church meetings...

"Is the governor willing to make an iron-clad commitment not to rescind the current order [allowing churches to open and operate unfettered by government restriction]?" asked one of the judges in Friday's oral arguments.

"No your honor, we are not," replied Gov. Pritzker's attorney.

Then later...

"Would you be willing to agree and to say that you will not enforce or go back to the original order, [restricting churches] without coming to this court to seek permission?"

Again, the Assistant Attorney General responded,

"We are not willing to do this at this time."

The Assistant AG's comments before the court on behalf of Gov. Pritzker confirm what we have long feared. The governor can and will impose the same or harsher church restrictions at his own discretion in the future if he is not restrained by a court. On this issue, the argument could not have gone better for Liberty Counsel's presentation to the court.

Defend Religious Freedom - select here or the button below

So far, our Chicago-area church clients have been criminally charged, had their private parking lot blocked, had their neighbors' cars impounded and have received a Summary Abatement order threatening to take possession of and bulldoze our clients’ church buildings! All this because these churches followed their consciences and opened their facilities to their congregants while doing so safely.

Just weeks ago, Liberty Counsel requested the Supreme Court of the United States to grant a Temporary Restraining Order barring Gov. Pritzker from further harassing or restricting our church clients. Just hours before the governor was to respond to the Supreme Court, Pritzker dropped all restrictions against all Illinois churches.

However, based on the Assistant AG's comments to the appeals court, it is clear that Gov. Pritzker only dropped his previous church restrictions in order to escape having to justify those actions before the Supreme Court. Without court intervention, the governor intends to reserve the right to reimpose those church restrictions any time he feels like it.

Unfortunately for Gov. Pritzker and the IL Assistant AG, the protections offered by the United States Constitution are not arbitrary or dependent upon any elected official's mood, opinion or discretion.

Fund the Fight for America's Churches - select here or the button below

We pointed out that the governor's executive order clearly discriminated against religion. Under the order, there is no limit on the number of people a church may feed, shelter overnight, or provide the "necessities of life," which could include helping them to apply for unemployment.

So, the churches could feed and shelter 500 people in the sanctuary, but as soon as the pastor conducted a short worship service, or even prayed over the meal, the 10-person limit applies!

When one of the judges asked the Assistant AG about this provision, the attorney had no good answer – because there is none!

An outright ban on church services, or a restriction on the number of people allowed to attend a religious service while having no cap on the number that can attend a non-religious gathering in the same building, violates the First Amendment.

The protections laid out in our Bill of Rights are unalienable rights which cannot be abridged...not by Gov. Pritzker and not even in a time of COVID-19.

That's why Liberty Counsel continues to fight not only for our Chicago, IL, clients Elim Romanian Pentecostal Church and Logos Baptist Ministries, but for all churches nationwide.

We need your help to keep religious freedom FREE. As I have written you before, Liberty Counsel is representing numerous churches around the country in the fight to keep First Amendment religious freedom alive.

In addition to the case against IL Gov. Pritzker, we also have other church cases pending at three separate Courts of Appeal involving Maine, Kentucky and Virginia. Each of these governors also violated the rights of churches in their states.

And of course, we continue to have cases pending defending a heroic Planned Parenthood whistleblower, professional counseling rights, religious speech, sidewalk counselors and more. We need your generous support more than ever before!

Defend Religious Freedom - select here or the button below

Finally, please continue to pray for our legal team and all of our staff at Liberty Counsel. Our fight is not simply in our earthly courts, but also in the Court of Heaven as we defend the people who live by God's Word. The giants we face can seem to be overwhelming, but we know God is greater and we deeply appreciate the prayers of the faithful as we continue this battle!

In Christ,

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman

P.S. As I mentioned above, we continue to defend the people who live by God's Word. Our clients are never charged, regardless of the number of hours or expense, or even the number of years it may take to complete a case.

Most people would never be able to afford such a defense. But YOUR generous donations allow our clients to receive the legal representation they need – and that our country needs – in order to preserve our precious religious freedom. Please, give generously today! Select here.