ZION, ILLINOIS (ANS) -- A school bus driver and amateur artist from the Chicago suburb of Zion has legally changed his name to "In God We Trust."

The Zion artist people used to know as Steve Kreuscher is now legally In God We Trust. (Photo:Josh Peckler/Special to the News-Sun).

According to the Associated Press (AP), a Lake County circuit court judge approved Steve Kreuscher's (CROY'-shirz) name change petition on Friday.

The 57-year-old's first name was changed to "In God," while his last name was changed to "We Trust." He says the new name symbolizes the help God gave him during tough times and that he can't wait to begin signing his artwork with the new moniker.

A Lake County judge granted permission to the Zion man Friday to officially change his name to "In God We Trust." That's "In God" as a first name and "We Trust" as a last name.

The 57-year-old artist and bus driver was ecstatic about the name change as he exited court Friday.

"I feel great. It's just like, yes!" We Trust said, according to Nicholas P. Alajakis, writing in the Lake County News-Sun.

That newspaper said the entire process before Judge David Hall took less than two minutes, but We Trust said he was quite nervous.

"I have been praying for this. I didn't want anything to mess this up," he said.

We Trust said the new name more closely represents his devotion to God than "Steve Kreuscher" did.

The process to change his name took roughly three months, the newspaper said.

Throughout the course of his name change We Trust said he was looking for a sign from God that would let him know it was a good idea. He got it one day while adding up the expenses for the name change, which came out to roughly $600.

"I didn't want to use my own money because things are tight," said the father of four. "Three weeks later, I got my (tax) rebate check for $600."

Changing his name to something so out of the ordinary is bound to get mixed reactions from people, especially because of the religious overtones, he said.

"I'm not out to offend anybody. People can call me something different," We Trust said.

The newspaper reported that We Trust must now go about changing his name on all legal documents. Early next week, he'll visit the Social Security office in Waukegan and then the Secretary of State's office and his bank.

He's already begun signing his artwork with his new moniker, a move that he believes may add value to his work.

"There are billions of artists out there. If you don't do something to stand out in the crowd the world won't recognize you," We Trust said.

Vincent Perri, Daily Herald).

"God has brought me through some very hard times," he said. "I feel this is a way to honor God and immortalize that phrase."

We Trust is most excited to sign his artwork with the new moniker. He said it will make his colored pencil drawings stand out in a unique way.

Efforts by atheists to remove any reference to God from U.S. currency also has him worried. He said the words are an "endangered species."

But now he feels he's saved the phrase forever. "You can take it off the money, but you can't take away my name," he has said previously.

The Herald writer also tells how We Trust will have to change his driver's license, bank account and Social Security card to reflect his new name. And how that's going to cost him some money.

That writer says We Trust has already had to pay $246 for the legal petition, and about $150 for legal notices in the newspaper. We Trust figures the total cost will be about $600 and recounts how he just received his government stimulus check in the amount of $600 to cover the costs involved.

"It didn't surprise me," We Trust told the newspaper. "God is with me,"he said.

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 17, 2008

10:21 A.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: I've just assembled my -- many people on my domestic policy team to discuss the current flooding in the Midwest. Of course, our hearts and thoughts go to those who lost life. And of course, we're concerned about those whose -- who lost their homes or lost their businesses.

I've been briefed by Secretary Chertoff and Secretary Schafer and Director Paulison about the response. First task at hand is to deal with the flood waters, to anticipate where the flooding may next occur, and to work with the state and local authorities to deal with the response.

For example, in the case of Iowa, one of the issues was the need for fresh drinking water or drinking water, and so Director Paulison informed me that we've provided about 2 million liters of drinking water. When I was overseas I spoke to the Governor, and he said, listen, I -- the federal -- we need federal help on drinking water. So I sent the word to David and he responded well.

My only point to you is, is that we're in constant contact with people on the ground to help make sure that we save lives. Now that the water is beginning to recede, the question is, how do we help with the recovery? And Secretary Chertoff briefed me on plans, particularly when it comes to housing. A lot of people are going to be wondering, is there short-term help for housing? And there is, and we'll provide that help.

Secondly, what's going to happen in the long term to the homes? And so Michael is going to set up a housing task force similar to the kind we set up in California for the wildfires, to work with state and local authorities to have an orderly strategy to help people get back in their homes.

I fully understand people are upset when they lose their home. A person's home is their most valued possession. And we want to work with state and local folks to have a clear strategy to help people find -- get back into a place that -- where they can live.

Secondly, we're worried about farmers and ranchers. The country that's being affected by these floods has got a lot of farm country, a lot of people raising livestock. And the Secretary of Agriculture has briefed me on the conditions -- and we're still assessing how widespread the damage is on the farmlands -- and assures me that his team is in place to help farmers and ranchers with the federal aid available.

And finally, Director Nussle is here from the Budget Office. We've got what we called a Disaster Relief Fund. There's enough money in that fund to take care of this disaster. But what we're concerned about is future disasters this year. And therefore, we're going to work with the Congress. Jim Nussle is going to go up to work with Congress to get enough money in the upcoming supplemental to make sure that fund is -- has got enough money to deal with a potential disaster, another disaster this year.

Congress doesn't need to worry about working with the White House on this, because we think the supplemental is the way to go. What they do need to worry about is making sure that there is enough but not too much money in the fund, so we can say we have done our job.

I want to thank the members of my administration for working hard on this issue. I want to thank the governors in the affected states for being so compassionate in caring for their citizens. I want to thank the folks at the local level for loving a neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves.

This Thursday I'm going to take our team down there to meet with the folks in Iowa. And I, unfortunately, have been to too many disasters as President. But one thing I've always learned is that the American citizen can overcome these disasters. And life, while it may seem dim at this point in time, can always be better because of the resiliency and care of our citizens.

Thank you.