Northwest Illinois church sues Gov. Pritzker over shelter-in-place order, says rights being violated

Stephenson County earlier this month

Liquor stores in Illinois are open. Weed dispensaries? Open for business. Churches? No. Not even in Stephenson County, which has 29 positive cases of COVID-19.

Illinois, particularly rural Illinois, needs to reopen. There are many counties in the Land of Lincoln with fewer than ten reported cases of coronavirus. A few with none.

From WREX-TV:

An Evangelic Christian church in Lena has filed a lawsuit against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and leaders in Stephenson County, saying their religious rights have been violated.

The Beloved Church of Lena and Pastor Stephen Cassell filed a federal complaint with the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Rockford.

The lawsuit is against Gov. Pritzker, David Snyders the Stephenson County Sheriff, Craig Beintema, the Stephenson County Public Health Administrator and Steve Schiable, the Village of Lena's police chief, for issuing and enforcing unconstitutional edicts during the coronavirus pandemic.

The lawsuit says the defendants have "intentionally denigrated Illinois churches and pastors and people of faith by relegating them to second-class citizenship."