Sherman v. State of Illinois

Dist. Ct. did not err in dismissing for lack of standing plaintiff’s claim alleging that $20,000 grant from Ill. Dept. of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to entity called Friends of the Cross to restore large Latin cross violated First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, where, under Hein, 551 US 587, plaintiff had failed to allege or show that said grant had come from specific legislative act. Record showed that legislature appropriated non-specific $5 million pool of money from which individual legislator directed Dept. to give money to Friends of the Cross, and that said directive from legislator to distribute money from non-specific pool of money precluded plaintiff from obtaining standing to file instant lawsuit. Moreover, plaintiff could not seek return of money even if he had standing to bring lawsuit since money had already been given to Friends of the Cross by time instant lawsuit had been filed.