Jubilee Market owner refuses to
talk about $1 million State grant

The first thing that I noticed about the store was the street sign at the corner of the parking lot.  It says, "Jubilee Market Inc.  Serving you with the care of Christ.  Believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.  Acts 16:31."

The street sign at the corner of the parking lot of Jubilee Market.
Photo by Rob Sherman.  Click on photo for larger image.

Then, as I approached the building, I saw a large sign on the wall that says, "Jubilee Market.  Your Community Convenience Grocery Store.  Serving You with the Care of Christ.  (312) 421-8600."

Wall sign on the front of Jubilee Market.
Photo by Rob Sherman.  Click on picture for a larger image.

The next thing that I noticed was another large sign, which contained a bible verse.

Sign with bible verse on the outside front wall of Jubilee Market.
Photo by Rob Sherman.  Click on photo for larger image.

I attempted to enter the store through the front door, but the door was locked.  This was at about 2:30 in the afternoon.  When I looked through the glass front door, I found that the door had been barricaded shut from behind.  However, there was a sign on the front door (see the picture of the front door sign, earlier in this story) with the owners' telephone number on it, so I decided to call the owner from my cell phone and ask him why his store was closed in the middle of the day.

I got an answering machine, so I left a message with my name and phone number, asking for a return phone call.

Then, I went back outside to have another look around.

That's when I noticed how the paint was peeling, badly, on the front wall of the store, making the store look really run down and causing me to wonder what the heck was going on with this place.

Paint peeling on the front outside wall of Jubilee Market.
Photo by Rob Sherman.  Click on photo for larger image.

I went back to my truck to leave.  That's when the phone rang.  It was Reverend Walter McCray.

I told Rev. McCray who I was, and that I was investigating why the State was giving Jubilee Market a grant of one million dollars.

"Is the store open?" I asked.

"I am there occasionally," he replied.

"But is the store operating?"

"I ran out of money to operate the store due to the economic downturn."

"What are you going to do with the million dollars?"

"My people said that I'm not allowed to talk about that."

"Well, are you going to build a new place with the money or re-open here, and if you are going to build new, where are you going to build?"

"I'm not allowed to say."

"Who is the legislator who sponsored the line item to give you the million dollars?"

"I'm not allowed to talk about that, either."

"Is this store an extension of your Christian ministry?"

"I'm a reverend.  Everything that I do is an extension of my Christian ministry."

"Thank you for your time, Reverend McCray."

As far as Reverend McCray was concerned, it's a secret as to how he is going to spend your tax dollars, and it's also a secret as to who the sponsor was of the line item in the Capital Bill that would give him the money.

That's not acceptable to me, and it shouldn't be acceptable to you.

This million dollar grant to a private Christian ministry grocery store is one of the line items in the Capital Bill that I will be challenging when I file suit, most likely next week, to stop hundreds of donations of your tax dollars to politically connected houses of worship, parochial schools and religious ministries.  The grant to Jubilee Market will be challenged on the grounds that it violates the Illinois Constitution's prohibition against requiring any person to support a ministry against his consent, the prohibition against the State showing a preference to any religious denomination, and the requirement that public funds be used for public purposes.