In 2024, the elected Sheriff of Jefferson County Illinois, Jeff Bullard, led an effort to fund and place a nearly seven-foot monument featuring a Protestant version of the Ten Commandments in the lobby of the County Courthouse in Mount Vernon. On the advice of lawyers, the Sheriff moved the monument outside, but it still stands at the only public entrance the courthouse. This is the entrance used by people who come to the facility to attend court, participate in jury duty, obtain critical records and cast votes in elections. The County Board, which has the power to remove the monument, apparently approves of a religious monument standing prominently in a central civic space.
Along with Freedom from Religion Foundation and the National ACLU, we represent a diverse group of multifaith and non-religious Jefferson County taxpayers and residents who asked an Illinois state court to order the County to remove the monument. Our clients believe that matters of faith should be left to individual residents, and the monument and its message should be separate from local government.