Church-state debate: Religious groups slated for Illinois grants

The Chicago Tribune reports:

The sleek new Catholic high school nearing completion on Chicago's West Side boasts a chapel, modern library and computer labs.

And thanks to the recently passed public works bill, Christ the King Jesuit College Prep on West Jackson Boulevard also boasts a half-million-dollar state grant.

The taxpayer money earmarked for the private school is one of more than 100 grants to religious organizations contained in the $31 billion statewide construction program passed by the General Assembly and signed in July by Gov. Pat Quinn. Other projects listed in the 900-plus-page bill include $100,000 to Telshe Yeshiva school, which offers courses on the Talmud, Bible, prophets and Jewish law, for renovations; $700,000 to St. Malachy School for capital improvements; and $750,000 to St. Anthony W.W. Temple for costs associated with capital improvements.

Some legal scholars say state money to religious organizations -- particularly to cover construction costs for primary and secondary schools and churches -- raises constitutional questions.

In Illinois there appears to no restraint on government spending of any kind. You thought the reliable, Blue state of Illinois would be "sensitive" to church-state issues: you were wrong. For more on how constitutions fail to limit government over time.