CHICAGO | A federal judge on Thursday barred school districts statewide from holding the daily moment of silence suitable for prayer that is required under state law.
U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman said he had given school districts time to object to his March 28 preliminary injunction on enforcement of the moment of silence law but received no objections.
He therefore extended to the entire state the preliminary injunction originally designed to apply only to suburban Buffalo Grove District 214.
The law passed by the Illinois General Assembly says every school district in Illinois must hold a nonreligious moment of silence suitable for prayer or contemplating the day's activities at the start of the day.
"In each public school classroom, the teacher in charge shall observe a brief period of silence with the participation of all the pupils therein assembled at the opening of every school day," the law states.
"This period shall not be conducted as a religious exercise but shall be an opportunity for silent prayer or for silent reflection on the anticipated activities of the day," according to the law.
Radio talk show host Rob Sherman, an outspoken atheist whose daughter, Dawn, attends Buffalo Grove High School, filed suit to stop enforcement.
He expressed satisfaction after Gettleman issued his order.
"It's good. It's what I wanted," Sherman said. He said the law was designed to unconstitutionally "proselytize Christianity to a captive audience" of schoolchildren.
The Illinois House voted in March to allow school districts to hold moments of silence but not require them to do so.
The measure sponsored by Rep. John Fritchey, D-Chicago, also would delete references to prayer contained in the law as it now stands.
But the bill stalled in the Illinois Senate two weeks ago after Sen. Kim Lightford, D-Chicago, tried to restore the mandatory language.
Sherman said in an interview Thursday that he now will work with "friendly legislators to try to persuade the General Assembly to reverse the law before the appellate court can reverse Judge Gettleman's ruling."
