World Outreach Conference Center v. City of Chicago and Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church v. City of Peoria

Chicago (defendant) repeatedly denied World Outreach (plaintiff), a Christian ministry, a housing license for its homeless-services mission, wrongly insisting a special permit was required even after the relevant zoning changed in a way that still exempted the ministry's use; World Outreach sued under RLUIPA and for religious discrimination and equal-protection violations, and the district court dismissed all claims. In a consolidated case, Peoria (defendant) designated Trinity's (plaintiff) church a historic landmark, blocking demolition to build a family-life center on that spot — but an alternative lot on Trinity's own campus was available, and Peoria committed at oral argument to permitting construction there instead; the district court granted Peoria summary judgment.

Whether a land-use regulation must impose a substantial burden upon a religious organization's exercise of religion in order to violate the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.