(775 ILCS 35/25)
Sec. 25.
Application of Act; home rule powers.
(a) This Act applies to all State and local (including home rule unit)
laws, ordinances, policies, procedures, practices, and governmental actions
and their implementation, whether statutory or otherwise and whether
adopted before or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to authorize a government to
burden any religious belief.
(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect, interpret, or in any
way address any of the following: (i) that portion of the First Amendment of
the United States Constitution prohibiting laws respecting the establishment of
religion, (ii) the second sentence of Article I, Section 3 of the Illinois
Constitution, or (iii) Article X, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution.
Granting government funding, benefits, or exemptions, to the extent permissible
under the 3 constitutional provisions described in items (i), (ii), and (iii)
of this subsection, does not constitute a violation of this Act. In
this subsection, "granting", used with respect to government funding, benefits,
or exemptions, does not include the denial of government funding, benefits, or
exemptions.
(d) The corporate authorities of a municipality or other unit of local
government may enact ordinances, standards, rules, or regulations that
protect the free exercise of religion in a manner or to an extent equal to or
greater than the protection provided in this Act. If an ordinance, standard,
rule, or regulation enacted under the authority of this Section or under the
authority of a unit of local government's home rule powers prohibits,
restricts, narrows, or burdens a person's exercise of religion or permits the
prohibition, restriction, narrowing, or burdening of a person's exercise of
religion, that ordinance, standard, rule, or regulation is void and
unenforceable as to that person if it (i) is not in furtherance of a
compelling governmental interest and (ii) is not the least restrictive means of
furthering that governmental interest. This subsection is a limitation under
subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution on the
concurrent exercise by home rule units of powers and functions exercised by
the State.
(Source: P.A. 90-806, eff. 12-2-98.)
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