Rob Sherman taking Zion to court again over old seal

Suburban activist Rob Sherman is taking legal action against the city of Zion after an advertisement featuring an old version of the city seal appeared in a newspaper.

That seal, which included a cross and the phrase “God reigns,” was ruled unconstitutional by a U.S. appellate court in 1991. The city was forced to design a new seal.

The advertisement appeared in Saturday’s Lake County News-Sun. In it, Commissioner Shantal Taylor invites readers to a Sept. 24 community forum at city hall.

Sherman, of Buffalo Grove, and Clint Harris, a Zion resident and the plaintiff in the 1987 case that led city officials to eventually change the seal, want the court to order Zion officials and Taylor to explain why the ad didn’t violate the ban on the old seal’s use.

Sherman, Harris and attorney Richard Grossman filed a motion for such an order Wednesday in federal court in Chicago.

Sherman was involved in the original case as director of the Illinois chapter of American Atheists, of which Harris was a member. He’s now involved as an advocate for Harris, he said.

Taylor could not be reached for comment.

Zion city attorney Scott Puma said he’s unsure of who placed the ad or paid for it. He said he could not fully respond to the complaint because he needed to look further into the accusations.