Muslim prayer center, residents collide near West Chicago
By Jake GriffinLeaders of the Islamic Center of Western Suburbs want to convert a house at 28W774 Army Trail Road near West Chicago into the organization’s prayer center and food pantry, but neighbors are fighting the plan.
Kevin Wiley has been waiting for Monday for two years.
That’s the day when DuPage County’s Zoning Board of Appeals opens a hearing into a proposal to convert a house at 28W774 Army Trail Road near West Chicago into the headquarters for the Islamic Center of Western Suburbs.
The leaders of the Muslim group want to turn the house they bought out of foreclosure into a prayer center and food pantry. Neighbors like Wiley want the group to stop using the house for anything other than a residence until the county decides whether to allow a different use.
“First it was the landscaping issues they did without the proper permits that changed the floodplain and caused my basement to flood twice,” Wiley said. “The thing that bothers us the most is the constant rotation of different people coming and going every day.”
This is the third time the issue has been in front of the county’s zoning board. The Islamic Center’s new attorney, Kevin Gallaher, said he is aware of the history surrounding the proposal and is hopeful a resolution satisfactory to all sides can be reached.
“There’s been some miscommunication along the way on the part of all parties,” Gallaher said. “All sides need to come to an understanding as to what the ultimate use of the property will be.”
Islamic Center leaders are seeking a “conditional use” permit that will allow them to operate the property as a religious facility. They also are asking for more parking.
“They’re trying to convert a residential property into something it wasn’t intended to be,” said neighbor Ron Cwik.
Adding to the controversy is a private driveway the Islamic Center shares with Ray and Jackie Sitkiewicz. The couple told the county board last month that many times they’ve found themselves either unable to enter or leave their property because cars of people worshipping at the house five times a day block the drive.
In January, the county cited the Islamic Center’s leaders for zoning violations related to parking and non-permitted uses of the property. The state’s attorney’s office is seeking more than $25,000 in fines it claims the center has racked up since the beginning of the year for failing to comply with the county’s orders. But the case was once again held over for another month last week to see what comes out of Monday’s meeting, Gallaher said.
Compounding the confusion is the state department of revenue’s decision last year to grant a complete property tax exemption for the parcel. That amounts to more than $8,600 off the tax rolls, Wayne Township Assessor Michael Musson said.
Sue Hofer, a spokeswoman for the department, said the decision was based on a recommendation from the county’s board of review.
“We have no way of determining local land use,” she said. “Our job is to determine whether the use of the property is consistent with the law.”
Hofer said the Islamic Center’s paperwork was complete and included federal nonprofit documentation.
DuPage Supervisor of Assessments Craig Dovel said that while his office does make a recommendation in conjunction with the board of review, the state is ultimately responsible for deciding whether to grant an exemption. Dovel and Board of Review Chairman Tony Bonavolonta said the county doesn’t check for zoning violations before making any recommendations.
“We don’t question a religious use,” Bonavolonta said. “We just forward that onto the department of revenue.”
However, Hofer said the state relies on county officials to make sure a property owner seeking a tax exemption is legitimate.
“They are our eyes and ears on the ground,” she said.
Wiley said none of the government agencies are looking out for the residents.
“See? That’s insane with the tax exemption,” he complained. “By them saying they are using the property for religious purposes, they are admitting to the zoning violations.”
The county has been dealing with church-related zoning issues for several years, but the county board rejected a measure that would have imposed significant limitations on locations more than a year ago. The county is being sued by another Muslim organization after a proposal to open a similar prayer center and food pantry near Naperville was rejected recently.
County board member Jim Zay said the issue of zoning for religious facilities in residential areas needs to be addressed.
“It’s not about the church, it’s about property rights,” he said. “People coming into a single-family area have the right to assume it’s going to remain a single-family area.”
No…this is not a repeat post of Muslims trying to do the same exact thing in Brooklyn NY. This time they are showing no respect to their neighbors in Chicago. Muslims are constantly demanding respect, yet they do not care about the wants and beliefs of non-Muslims. Islam is one-way street, and we should return the favor. Say no to Muslim immigration, and Mosque construction.
Hat tip to Dee.
Fight every day. Praise Jesus Deus Vult
How long are we going to keep playing sheep in the presence of wolves? I’m armoring up and bringing the storm. Praise Jesus Deus Vult
The battle is real. The Battle for the heart and soul has now been exposed.
The suspect allegedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” while carrying out his act, clearly aimed to kill, as he reportedly targeted the police officers’ throats.”
He was merely demonstrating his faithfulness to the beloved religion. “When you meet the unbelievers, strike the necks.” (Qur’an 47:4) Watch for him to be declared mentally ill forthwith.
Islam the religion of the mentally ill.
Of course. You can’t have people getting the idea that there might be some problem with Islam. The establishment media considers it its foremost responsibility to ensure that no one gets a negative view of Islam from crimes committed in its name and/or in accord with its teachings. ✠
This IS how I have been fighting. I never stop.
Patriot, infidel, Crusader Praise Jesus. Deus Vult. ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠
They hear the warnings.
But they convince themselves that someone else will answer the call. ✠
Let my Faith be built on Jesus,
Let my Hope be carved in stone,
Let the storm that comes against me,
Find I do not stand alone. ✠
Two hundred fifty years, Your hand has led
We trust You for the path ahead
Though enemies would see us fall
We know that You are Lord of all
Renew our land, renew our faith
America still has a place
We’re not perfect, but we’re Yours
Together we will win this war ✠
In the shadow of the cross, I stand alone
Before the walls of ancient stone
My heart is quiet, my soul is fire
Above the world, above desire.
Oh, Lord of Light, in the dark we pray
Grant us the strength to lead the way
By the sword we live, by the faith we die
Underneath the endless holy sky!
Deus Vult! Deus Vult!
The silent vow, the sacred cry! ✠
The Holy Crusades have never ended! The fight continues for our Christian faith, for our family, for our country – for God and his Son ✠
✠ ✠ Allah’s murdering cult of Islam has a phobia about anything not Islamic. ✠ ✠
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DEUS VULT
Cities rarely fall because evil was overwhelmingly powerful.
They fall because too many good people convince themselves that silence is wisdom.
Muslim terrorist, Bahawalpur Division has functioned for decades as a primary incubator of jihadist manpower, sectarian killers, and anti-Christian violence. Thousands of Jihadis have been supplied for Kashmir, Afghanistan, and the internal sectarian Islam war. Witnesses are murdered, judges are threatened, and the most notorious commanders walk free. Until the networks, the terror madrasas, the safe houses, the training centers, and the culture of official and political complicity are dismantled, the bloodshed and the terrorization of Christians and others will continue without interruption.
Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. Islam is a hate group, not a religion. Remove Islam’s religious status from America
Islam has a phobia about anything not Islamic.
We still fight For Our Christian Faith, For Our Culture—we will not retreat an inch! We break the chains of modern doubt; we will not ever flinch! This is the line we draw today, a promise cast in stone! Praise Jesus, Deus Vult
The remnant of the eternal flame is not hiding. The remnant is not whispering. The remnant is awake and marching. Praise Jesus Deus Vult
We will not be slaves to a culture built on ruin and spoil. The time for watching is over; the stand for our Land and our sovereignty begins now. ✠
I don’t know you warn them, and they still keep letting them build mosques. They’re doing a thing in Texas right now, live. I’m totally against Muhammad’s one-world religion of doom.
Of course, you know I made a few comments. HA HA HA
Pray like you never prayed before. In Jesus’ name, Amen
More and more people are waking up to the threat of Islam. I pray it’s not too late.
Pray like your life depends on it. Because it does.
The watchman on the wall. Watching for the coming danger on this broken land. If I stay silent, every soul that falls into darkness, their blood is on my hands.
Still, there are other forms of jihad: jihad of the pen, jihad of the tongue, jihad of the pocketbook, and so on. The goal of all of them is to establish the hegemony of Sharia, a legal system that denies the freedom of speech and the equality of rights of women and non-Muslims. If Trump is saying that the Muslim Democrats are working to bring Sharia to the U.S., he would have a strong case, for they have been among the leaders of the struggle, or jihad, to make Americans think Sharia is benign and has no political, supremacist, violent or expansionist aspects. An ignorant and complacent populace does not resist conquest.
Guard the wall, for it must never fall to the demon rats.
“I Won’t Be Quiet” is a bold declaration of faith in the middle of spiritual warfare. When pressure rises, when doubt creeps in, when the world says stay silent—this is your reminder to stand firm and speak truth.
It’s a Holy war. Put on your armor.
It was never us who started this fight.
War on success, NYC Wall Street exodus turns into a stampede.
Islam and peace should never be in the same sentence!
Traumatized, indoctrinated women totally internalized misogyny