Church and State in Chicago Politics

Tom Roeser reports:

On Jan. 6, 2006 a disastrous fire gutted the church, caused by workers repairing the roof during a $500,000 restoration. A nearby private elementary school was also destroyed and had to be evacuated; even cars parked next to the church were virtually incinerated. After the fire the brick and stone framework still stood. Earlier in city history a number of business types would leap to the fray to finance a rebuilding. But this is the 21st century of mercantilism-also the century where the lines of demarcation between church and state in this city have been erased. Along came Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a mop-topped boyish opportunist with the cold heart of a casino owner (he has been listed as Individual A in a federal grand jury bill of particulars on the ties of lobbying and corruption) and announced he would designate a flat $1 million to rebuild the church. Since 2006 was an election year and Gov. Blagojevich was running for reelection, you can jolly well understand that he polled spectacularly well in Bronzeville.

In fact nobody-not the newspapers nor the Republicans-asked why the taxpayers were forced to finance a rebuilding of a church. No civil libertarian or ACLU reformer popped up to object to public money going to build a church. Well, the state check was cut but lo and behold in accordance with Illinois’ brilliant track record of governmental administration, the check for $1 million was sent not to the Pilgrim Baptist Church but, through a crossing of wires, to the elementary school which carried the same address as the church at 3301 South Indiana. Only recently was the error discovered. The private school people kept the check and shut up about it. The Pilgrim people wondered when their check was coming and started to raise a howl about the delay. It was then that the error was discovered. So Gov. Blagojevich said that an error was committed-but not to worry, the school needed help as well and they’d cut another one for the church. Since then the state has had the guts to question the paper trail of the school but everybody emitted a sigh of relief-at least Pilgrim Baptist will get its state money.

An outright grant to a church is still unusual in Chicago lore. But what is not unusual is the continued use of church pulpits-predominantly black church pulpits-for outright partisan, Democratic party purposes.

The Chicago Democrats love the status quo more than laws and a constitution.