[CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak] said the group followed proper procedures over the 17 months of meetings and hearings that preceded his office being retained.
“Throughout the process, they were attempting to provide (concessions) in the hope of appeasing the neighbors,” Vodak said. “They expended a lot of effort and funds trying to get that done.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations filed the suit in federal court in Chicago on behalf of the Irshad Learning Center, which had been proposed for a 2.91-acre site on 75th Street between Wehrli Road and Naper Boulevard in an unincorporated area near Naperville.
A federal lawsuit was filed against DuPage County Thursday claiming an Islamic group’s Constitutional rights were violated when a proposal to build an educational center near Naperville was rejected in January.
CAIR-Chicago Staff Attorney Kevin Vodak maintains that Irshad was treated differently than not only other religious institutions, but many secular institutions as well.
“DuPage County needs to be held accountable for this violation of state and federal law,” Vodak said.
Vodak indicated that comments made by ZBA members and protesters at County Board meetings left no doubt in his mind that religious bigotry played a part in denying Irshad the conditional permit it sought.
The Chicago office of the Council on American Islamic Relations announced that it has filed a complaint in federal court today against DuPage County, in response to the county’s rejection of a zoning permit for a proposed Islamic School in Naperville.
“the fight’s not over, and they will try to appeal the decision,” Amina Sharif, the nonprofit’s communications coordinator, said. “We are concerned that anti-Muslim sentiments expressed during the meeting may have wrongly influenced the decision,” she said. “That is something that concerns us, and that we may challenge.”
“We fear that the board may have acted on improper factors in rejecting the Irshad Learning Center’s permit, and we will continue to pursue this matter in hopes of achieving a just resolution,” said Kevin Vodak, attorney with the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which will be representing Irshad as it considers appealing the county’s ruling.
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