New holiday display rules on tap
BY LYNNE STIEFEL
STAFF WRITER
Glenview trustees said Tuesday they would drop a 20-year-old policy that barred religious displays on village property, after reviewing court decisions that have since found that certain Christmas decorations are considered secular.
The Village Board intends to adopt new rules that would allow secular symbols, including Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas trees and candy-striped poles, to be displayed on village-owned properties and would establish an as yet unknown village-owned site where holiday displays that included religious symbols could be erected.
Trustees revisited the policy to avoid the controversy that erupted last winter, when firefighters at the 3507 Glenview Road station were ordered to take down a Christmas tree and Santa Claus display.
"Now that we know what is secular and what is religious, it makes a lot more sense to have those decorations up," Village President Larry Carlson said.
Celebrating diversity
Glenview resident Andrew Goldberg supported changing the policy. "I'd like to see us have the opportunity in this community to be able to display religious symbols from all religions," Goldberg told trustees. "I would like to see our community take down the barriers this ordinance actually sets up."
But resident Beth Balaban said the separation of church and state should not be clouded.
"If all of the people who make up this melting pot of a community are not all represented at our public buildings, then the only equitable, workable and legal solution is not to represent anybody."
Trustee Jeff Lerner warned that allowing the symbols to be displayed may stir up more controversy. Not everyone perceives Santa Claus as a secular symbol, he said.
Other trustees, though, said allowing any religious symbol to be erected at a particular village-owned site should serve to balance any perception that the government endorses a particular religious view. That strategy was backed by Rabbi Daniel Moskowitz, whose Lubavitch Chabad of Glenview has twice requested permission to erect a menorah in honor of Hanukkah on village-owned property.
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