http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/showcase/chi-0307230177jul23.story
A federal lawsuit Tuesday alleged that the Chicago Park District violated a couple's constitutional rights by refusing to display their religious message on a commemorative brick at a Far North Side park near their home. The suit contends the Park District improperly censored the message solely because it bore a Biblical reference to Jesus. The couple, Robert and Mildred Tong, parents of three children, had paid $50 for the commemorative brick last October as part of a fundraising effort to help pay for new playground equipment in Senn Park in the Edgewater neighborhood. An advertisement for the "Buy-a-Brick" campaign, sponsored by the Senn Park Advisory Council, didn't restrict the subject matter of the donor's message, according to the lawsuit. But the Park District objected to the Tongs' message to their children: "Missy, EB & Baby: Jesus is the Cornerstone. Love, Mom & Dad." . . . The Tongs said their freedom to express their religion has been violated, and the Park District said in a letter to the couple that it also had constitutional concerns. To allow the Tongs' inscription to be used would create an impression that the Park District was "endorsing expressions of religious belief," the letter said. On Tuesday, Lupe Garcia, the Park District's general counsel, said she hadn't seen the lawsuit. She said district guidelines bar religious or political messages on permanent markers, plaques or other commemorative signs. . . .
