Please note this post was modified on 2/25/2020
On January 31, 2020, a Kane County judge ruled in favor of the City of Aurora in denying a temporary restraining order (TRO) requested by Wayside Cross Ministries regarding the City’s enforcement of a state statute that prohibits a “registered child sex offender may not reside within 500 feet of a “playground, child care institution, day care center, part day child care facility, day care home, group day care home, or a facility providing programs or services exclusively directed toward persons under 18 years of age.”
On January 31, 2020, a Kane County judge ruled in favor of the City of Aurora in denying a temporary restraining order (TRO) requested by Wayside Cross Ministries regarding the City’s enforcement of a state statute that prohibits a “registered child sex offender may not reside within 500 feet of a “playground, child care institution, day care center, part day child care facility, day care home, group day care home, or a facility providing programs or services exclusively directed toward persons under 18 years of age.”
In 2019, the group had filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Aurora (which was voluntarily dismissed and then later refiled in state court) arguing the City violated their right to freedom of speech and the freedom of religion when the City enforced an Illinois state law restricting residency requirements for child sex offenders. The City responded that that because the park (which is within 500 feet of the Wayside Cross Ministries property) is used as a playground, the occupancy by registered child sex offenders violates the residency requirements of state statute.
Corrected Post Authored by Michael Halpin & Julie Tappendorf, Ancel Glink