Chicago, USA - A Burbank woman is suing her hometown in federal court for requiring her to display what she believes is a Christian-themed vehicle sticker on her windshield.
Nichole Schultz tried to get an exemption from displaying the sticker because of religious concerns, but the city denied her request, her attorney said, so now the matter is headed to court.
The sticker depicts a soldier with a rifle, kneeling before a gravesite emblazoned with a cross. City officials contend the cross is a generic symbol and was not selected for any religious meaning.
Schultz said the city is violating the Illinois Constitution along with her 1st Amendment rights by making her endorse a particular faith.
The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Chicago, said that as a result of the "forced Christianization" of her car, she avoids driving it whenever possible. She's not asking for the city to rescind its sticker for everyone, but to make an exception for her.
Schultz is suing Burbank, the City Council, Mayor Harry Klein and City Clerk Pat Roach.
Roach said Thursday that the cross is a grave marker, not a crucifix. She said the city often tries to incorporate a patriotic theme in its stickers and that they usually include an American flag.
Last year, the sticker showed an excavator and said something about "a community at work." No one liked it, Roach said. This year's sticker received a warmer welcome with only two complaints.
Schultz claims Roach told her to "deal with it" when she called to complain about the sticker. The clerk denies ever using those words.
"I probably said something like, `I'm surprised that you don't like it because everybody else does,'" Roach said. "It's been very popular."
Roach said Schultz has the option to cover up a portion of the sticker or to cut out the cross, but Schultz's advocates said they were never offered such a compromise.
Rob Sherman, an atheist activist, wrote the city a letter in July on Schultz's behalf, asking officials to come up with a discreet solution that would keep the matter out of court.
"Let's resolve this matter together and get it over with without litigation and without the negative effects that a battle over a religious issue would cause," he said.
The city never answered, Sherman said.
The law is on Schultz's side, he said, pointing to two cases involving religious-themed vehicle stickers--one in Zion and the other in Rolling Meadows--that were decided in 1991.
Sherman said, too, that there is no way to divorce the cross symbol from its religious roots, saying government officials often try to "accidentally" force people to advertise their religion.
Schultz could not be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Dmitry Feofanov, said he didn't know her religious affiliation and that it doesn't matter. Feofanov has a one-man firm called Chicago Lemon Law, and most of his cases involve car fraud.
"The law is the law," he said. "This country was founded in part because of the idea of religious liberty. This issue was on the table in American public life from the founding of the Republic."
Feofanov said that because the city ignored legal precedent, the only option was to go to court.