The Associated Press reports a small northern Illinois church defied crowd restrictions in the state’s latest stay-at-home order, holding a Sunday service with dozens of people.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s extension of the order, which took effect Friday and lifts May 30, allows for worship limited to groups of 10, along with other social distancing measures.
Roughly 100 people attended The Beloved Church in Lena, according to WREX-TV, which was denied entrance but interviewed attendees and neighbors who counted congregants. The community of roughly 2,800 people is 130 miles northwest of Chicago.
Officials with the evangelical church sued in federal court arguing Pritzker’s order violates the First Amendment right to free religious practice. However, U.S. District Judge John Z. Lee on Sunday rejected the church’s request for a temporary restraining order because such large gatherings could “magnify the risk of contagion even when participants practice preventative measures.”
