Lake County Gazette

State Sen. Craig Wilcox (R-McHenry) issued a Feb. 26 statement about the Supreme Court’s refusal on Feb. 25 to hear the appeal of a temporary restraining order that prohibited mask mandates for students in several Illinois school districts. 

The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and the three levels of Illinois’ judicial system have gone against Pritzker’s mandates for schools, Wilcox said in his statement.

“Yet we still have a Governor who is unwilling to acknowledge that his actions represented an abuse of his authority. In fact, he actually claimed the decisions represented a ‘victory,’” Wilcox said. “This entire situation is an example of what happens when one man tries to unilaterally control every decision relative to how Illinoisans live and work during a pandemic. It was nothing short of an uprising by parents when they had had enough. They knew their rights were being violated and stood united against the Governor’s overreach.”

The Circuit Court of Sangamon County ordered on Feb. 4 the temporary restraining order, and the Fourth District Appellate Court on Feb. 17 rejected Pritzker’s appeal.

“The TRO at issue also covered mandates requiring weekly testing of unvaccinated school employees and the quarantining of students and teachers who are ‘close contacts’ of confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases,” Illinois Policy said.

Pritzker on Feb. 27 said in a statement that because the Supreme Court on Feb. 25 also eliminated the Circuit Court’s temporary restraining order, his administration has the authority to implement a school mask mandate if needed in the future.

“I'm also extremely pleased to say that because the CDC has recommended that masks are needed only in areas of high transmission, the State of Illinois will move forward to remove our school mask mandate, effective Monday (Feb 28),” Pritzker said in the statement. “We will recommend that all school districts CDC guidance and will update our existing guidance in the coming days.” 

Pritzker released on Feb. 28 an updated executive order that lifts the mask mandate in K-12 schools and daycares.