(CN) - The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from an atheist who challenged the use of state money to renovate a large cross in Southern Illinois.
The Supreme Court turned back Robert Sherman's request without comment.
Sherman claimed that a $20,000 state grant awarded in 2008 to the 111-foot-high Bald Knob Cross of Peace near Alto Pass violated the separation of church and state. He sued in 2010, claiming that the award "has the primary effect of advancing a particular religious sect, namely Christianity."
Lower courts ruled that Sherman lacked standing to sue.
Sherman, a Chicago radio personality who calls himself one of the nation's top two atheists, sued the state in a previous case in 2007. He got an injunction against an Illinois law requiring a moment of silence in public schools, claiming it amounted to prayer.
A federal judge lifted the injunction in 2011, finding that it did not specify prayer in its language.
Read the Top 8
Sign up for the Top 8, a roundup of the day's top stories delivered directly to your inbox Monday through Friday.
Additional Reads
-
-
Supreme Court won't hear case involving transgender rights November 1, 2021
-
-
Appeals Court Won’t Block Power Lines in Maine Woods May 13, 2021