Fires, Big Bucks, Christians & Atheists in Illinois

This is a confusing story. Two years ago, a Baptist church in Chicago caught fire and burned to the ground. The church had started its life as a synagogue, but had been bought by the Pilgrim Baptist group and things had been going quite well until the fire.

Illinois' governor, Rod Blagojevich, promised $1 million to rebuild the church. (By the by, the governor has also promised Rabbi Philip Lefkowitz $400,000 to build a non-sectarian community center in Uptown two years ago. That promise is as yet unfulfilled.)

One million dollars was disbursed, supposedly to rebuild Pilgrim Baptist Church. But, according to the governor's office, there was a "bureaucratic mistake," and the $1 mil went to a private school, the Loop Lab School, which rented space from the church. That space burned when the church burned.

Now things get weird. The Loop Lab School had been in trouble. State and federal folks were trying to collect thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes. Staff was not getting paid. The school's director, Chandra N. Gill, is a convicted felon (aggravated battery on a police officer). Gill was pardoned by the governor in 2007. The $1 million grant was already in the works.

Again the governor said it was a mistake but "If we find out -- and we're hopeful -- that this school that is in question is providing good services to kids, then we're happy that they get an extra million dollars to educate kids."

Right. What's a million bucks of state money anyway? It just comes from the taxpayers. Why not fund every private school in Illinois?

The governor said he intends to find another $1 million to help Pilgrim Baptist rebuild its administrative center.

Wait, it gets crazier. The Illinois legislature is looking into these expenditures; evidently even Illinois doesn't look kindly on a governor doling out millions of dollars in taxpayer money to private and/or religious institutions. So, the House State Government Administration Committee went into session to take comments from citizens.

A well-known atheist activist from Buffalo Grove, Rob Sherman, came before the committee to testify against using state funds for private and/or religious schools. All was well until one state legislator, Monique Davis (D-Chicago) began shrieking.

Here's how it went:

Davis: "I don't know what you have against God, but some of us don't have much against him. We look forward to him and his blessings. And it's really a tragedy -- it's tragic -- when a person who is engaged in anything related to God, they want to fight. They want to fight prayer in school.

"I don't see you (Sherman) fighting guns in school. You know?

"I'm trying to understand the philosophy that you want to spread in the state of Illlinois. This is the Land of Lincoln. This is the Land of Lincoln where people believe in God, where people believe in protecting their children... What you have to spew and spread is extremely dangerous, it's dangerous --"

Sherman: "What's dangerous, ma'am?"

Davis: "It's dangerous to the progression of this state. And it's dangerous for our children to even know that your philosophy exists! Now you will go to court to fight kids to have the opportunity to be quiet for a minute. But damn if you'll go to [court] to fight for them to keep guns out of their hands. I am fed up! Get out of that seat!"

Sherman: "Thank you for sharing your perspective with me, and I'm sure that if this matter does go to court--"

Davis: "You have no right to be here! We believe in something. You believe in destroying! You believe in destroying what this state was built upon."


Now, I may have missed something, but I didn't hear anything from Ms. Davis relative to the right of the governor to use public money for private and/or religious schools. What I did hear is a very angry, and disturbed woman who is out of control.

I have to agree with the assessment of the Council for Secular Humanism. Ronald A. Lindsay, director of the Council's First Amendment Task Force has called for Davis to resign as she does not represent all of her constituents. "She is unfit to serve in her office, just as a representative who told a Jew or a Hindu to 'get out of that seat' would be unfit to serve. If she does not resign, the Illinois House has an obligation to expel her."

Between the governor and Monique Davis, Illinois obviously does have a couple of problems . But it's nice to know that Florida isn't the only state overrun with fruitcakes!


Update from Rob Sherman: "Rep. Davis said that she had been upset, earlier in the day, to learn that a twenty-second and twenty-third Chicago Public School student this school year had been shot to death that morning. She said that it was wrong for her to take out her anger, frustrations and emotions on me, and that she apologized to me."