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NAPERVILLE SUN

3 DuPage County Board members want to end prayer at start of

meetings
By Suzanne Baker
Chicago Tribune • Dec 14, 2018 at 5:20 pm

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"It is my opinion that we as an all-inclusive board do not need an invocation prayer each meeting,” District 5 DuPage County Board member
Dawn DeSart, of Aurora, told fellow board members this week. (Dawn DeSart)

The DuPage County Board may evaluate its tradition of starting meetings with a religious invocation after
several Democrats questioned the need and reason for the prayer.

District 5 board member Dawn DeSart, of Aurora, this week said as a Christian she knows prayer is powerful,
but it not appropriate before board sessions.

“I believe with my whole heart in the power of prayer. Yet I am disturbed by the primarily Christian prayers at
the beginning of every DuPage County Board meeting,” DeSart said in comments she made to the County
Board.

“It is my opinion that we as an all-inclusive board do not need an invocation prayer each meeting,” she said.

DeSart, who has been an active member Alleluia Lutheran Church in Naperville for the last two decades, said
she respects other religions, and she asked for guidance from other board members on how to go about
stopping invocations. “This is the right thing to do on behalf of our Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, agnostic, etc.,
constituents,” she said.

Her opinion was shared by District 6 board member Sheila Rutledge, of Warrenville, and District 4’s Mary
FitzGerald Ozog, of Glen Ellyn, both Democrats.

Rutledge raised concerns about the separation of church and state.

“By doing the invocations, there is no one to speak for the agnostic, atheist, some of the maybe more fringe
religions,” Rutledge said.

In her request to get rid of prayers, Ozog spoke of her mother who came to the United States from Ireland, an
island that experienced 500 years of religious warfare because of the lack of separation of church and state,
she said. “I think this is an idea worth considering,” she said.

District 6 board member Robert Larsen, a Republican from Wheaton, called for keeping the tradition.

Members of many different faiths, including Jewish and Muslim, have given the invocation at past meetings,
he said. “We welcome members of every faith to do that, and I hope we will continue to do so,” Larsen said.

He said he believes it is an important recognition, but “certainly nobody is obligated to participate in that.”

“But we are a community that respects faith, and I think it is important that we continue that tradition here in
the county,” Larsen said.

District 4’s Tim Elliott, a Glen Ellyn Republican, said an invocation is a way to celebrate the county’s
increasing diversity.

“To me it’s always felt like an exercise in tolerance and a celebration of diversity to have people on this board,
regardless of their faith, bow their heads and take a moment, regardless of the person who’s up there,” he
said. “To me that is an act of tolerance and respect for different religious beliefs.”

Elliott suggested the board discuss the invocation matter further since at least three board members had
reservations.

“If we are looking to only have things that everyone in the county agrees on at these meetings, we are going to
have extremely short meetings. And we cannot avoid areas where we have disagreements between our
constituents. But we can do is show mutual respect and tolerance for people who may disagree with us,” he
said.

Board Chairman Dan Cronin said he would be open to a discussion.

In the interim, Larsen suggested those who are invited to give an invocation be reminded to be more
nondenominational to “respect the wishes and wills” of who are not of the same faith.

“I think there are certain folks who are very enthusiastic with their religion and make it very religion-
specific,” he said.

This week before, the Rev. Josh Ebener of St. Andrew Lutheran Church in West Chicago gave an invocation in
which he spoke for 30 seconds about how Christians are celebrating the season of Advent, explaining who it
“is a time where we eagerly wait for our Lord to come.”

In his prayer he said, “We ask you create a space in our lives for you as we prepare for Christmas and you’re
coming in our midst.”