Chicago mayor warns defiant church on rules

CHICAGO — Potentially setting up a Sunday confrontation with defiant church leaders, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city is prepared to enforce stay-at-home orders against houses of worship that continue holding in-person services.

Lightfoot made the comments at a Tuesday news conference.

“We’re going to be communicating over and over again over the course of this week. I understand that people are getting anxious. But defying common sense and public health guidance only puts their congregations at physical risk,” Lightfoot said. “We don’t want to see a cluster break out because faith leaders believe they have only one way of showing their reverence to the God that they worship. The Bible tells us, where two or more are gathered in my name, there will I be also. There’s lots of ways in which we show our devotion to our faith that don’t include physically putting people at risk.”

The dispute kicked off after Metro Praise International Church on the Northwest Side opened its doors for in-person services in an act church officials described as “passive resistance” to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s ongoing stay-athome order.