The council rejected advice of Mayor John Medinger and voted 15 to 2 this evening to pursue the appeal in the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Crabb of Madison issued an order July 14th that the city remove the monument that was installed by the Eagles Club in 1965.
Crabb ruled in favor of the Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation. The group's lawsuit, filed in 2001, contends the monument in Cameron Park violated the First Amendment requirement of separation of church and state.
After the lawsuit was filed, the city erected a fence around the monument, sold the parcel to the Eagles Club and passed a resolution stating its intent to use all means available to keep the monument where it is.
