SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A fifth member of the state's hate crimes commission resigned Wednesday amid controversy over another member of the panel who is a high-ranking official in the Nation of Islam, a spokesman said Wednesday.
All five departing members of the Governor's Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes are Jewish.
Alan Spellberg, a supervisor in the Cook County State's Attorney's office, said he hand-delivered his resignation letter to the governor's office, but would not comment beyond what was in the letter.
Spellberg's letter states that the commission has been "damaged beyond repair" by recent events and he can "no longer participate in good conscience."
The other four who resigned said they were leaving rather than serve alongside Sister Claudette Marie Muhammad, the minister of protocol for the Nation of Islam.
Criticism of her has mounted since she invited other commissioners to attend a speech last month by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, in which he referred to "Hollywood Jews" promoting homosexuality and "other filth."
Posted by Team Sleep on :
Oh, by the way, this maniac was appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich... a liberal democrat...