President Trump Classified Churches and Places of Worship as “essential places that provide essential services:” Chicago Mayor, Governor Defy his Proclamation

President Donald Trump is calling on the nation’s governors to immediately reopen churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship, characterizing them as “essential places that provide essential services” during the pandemic. VOA News reported

“At my direction, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is issuing guidance for communities of faith,” Trump said Friday. 

Trump admonished governors who have “deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but have left out churches and other houses of worship” and threatened to override any governors who continue to keep houses of worship closed for safety reasons. 

“Ministers, pastors, rabbis, imams and others faith leaders will make sure that their congregations are safe as they gather and pray,” Trump said. The CDC guidelines include guidance for disinfecting houses of worship and how to modify religious services. 

The announcement is lauded by First Liberty, an organization that defends religious freedom. 

“This is what the faithful of America have been waiting for some time, to see some leadership from somewhere, say that the First Amendment is not dead or sick, said Jeremy Dys, First Liberty Special Counsel.  VOA News full report here.

Mayor Lightfoot of Chicago immediately took he proclamation political according to Chicago Sun:

At a Friday press conference announcing plans to “cautiously reopen” parts of Chicago, Lightfoot said people have to recognize that “virtually everything [Trump] says has a political undertone and basis for it.”…..Gov. J.B. Pritzker — who has managed to fend off a series of legal challenges against his stay-at-home order — said Illinois will “continue to operate on the basis of science and data.”

Following through with Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s promise to take action against churches that violate social distancing rules, the Chicago Police Department issued $500 fines to three separate houses of worship that held services over the weekend, city officials said, the Chicago Tribune Reported.