People seem to be leaving to states with an improved business climate, lower taxes, and we would also say because that states with the worst government finances seem to be losing population the most, Weinberg said. J.B. Pritzker's mask mandate being found null and void by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow Feb. 4. "I think it's the wrong call.". It is composed of seven judges and encompasses 31 counties across a band of the state. The court's misguided decision is wrong on the law, demonstrates a misunderstanding of Illinois emergency injunction proceedings and has no relation to the record that was before the court. and other people were like, 'I'm still gonna wear it.' The grave consequence of this misguided decision is that schools in these districts no longer have sufficient tools to keep students and staff safe while COVID-19 continues to threaten our communities and this may force schools to go remote, Pritzker said. Some Rockford-area have decided to keep their existing mask rules in place, while others are modifying or lifting them for the time being. The lawsuit begins with laying out current COVID-19 statistics in Illinois, including a calculation that the survival rate for children and young adults up to age 20 who contract the virus is 99.9973%, citing 20 COVID deaths in that cohort in Illinois since the pandemic began. According to District 86, about 55 of students at Hinsdale Central refused to wear a mask Monday; they were given the choice ot go to the auditorium or back home. "This is what the overwhelming majority of Chicago parents and families support.". One of the cases DeVore is representing parents in actually sparked this newest lawsuit and the largest complaint filed yet. At what point as a society do we say let's try to go back to normal? Update on Court Case and Masking in D128: https://t.co/Vz0Dxo097T. In a letter attached as an exhibit to the lawsuit, District 12 Superintendent Travis Schmale wrote to parents last week, empathizing with frustration borne of "constant changes. The lawsuit against the 146 schooldistricts was originally filed in Macoupin County in October. A temporary restraining order issued Friday by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow has reduced schools' ability to require masks and vaccinations. J.B. Pritzker, ISBE and 16 school districts in Lake and McHenry counties over the states school mask mandate and other COVID rules. . Several surrounding school districts, including Schaumburg, Elmhurst, Arlington Heights, Barrington and Wheaton, have chosen to make masks optional. The 90 plaintiffs in the suit worked in 22 different . Some Illinois parents are urging their kids to go to school without a mask today to protest Gov. A spokesperson for Pritzkers office could not be reached for comment Monday evening. Oxford Community Schools and its staff are shielded from such civil litigation by state law under the doctrine of governmental immunity, Oakland County . J.B. Pritzker's statewide mask mandate in school buildings.. A spokeswoman for Gov. District 202 made note of the fluid situation in its message. Pritzker on Monday encouraged those districts to continue, Ruling on Illinois School Mask Mandate Lawsuit NBC Chicago, Ruling on Illinois School Mask Mandate Lawsuit: What to Know So Far A downstate Illinois judge made a ruling late last week that effectively prohibits a statewide mask requirement in schools, sparking plenty of confusion from school districts across the state. "We have heard from all sides throughout the pandemic about their feelings regarding masking and the quarantine.". FOR WHICH THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS CAN BASE THEIR. Despite the IEMAAs silence on school districts, DeVores suit points to the legislatures creation of the Illinois School Code and the invention of local school districts themselves as evidence enough that local school boards are the only entity with the authority to adopt and enforce all necessary rules for the management and governance of the public schools of their district.. Parents came armed with no mask signs, American flags and their children to protest mask mandates as school district employees looked down at them from their offices. A few days later, however, District 12 in Breese a pre-K through 8th grade district announced it was going mask-optional for the upcoming school year. "It's time for kids out of masks. "Our primary goal is to educate our kids and do that in a safe environment and that's something we've been doing, and we take very seriously.". The complaint points to a bill pending in the General Assembly that would compel school districts to follow Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education guidelines during public health emergencies, and forbid them to adopt policies contrary to state guidelines. As one of the districts named in the lawsuit that resulted in the temporary restraining order, administrators said removing the mask mandate for their schools was a legal decision. J.B. Pritzker's administration are asking a state appellate court to set aside a lower court order from late Friday that invalidated the mask Their argument, in a nutshell, is if a school is going to order masks or remove a kid from school for not following COVID-19 policies, the district needs to get parental consent or a court order. J.B. Pritzker, who issued the mask mandate in August, said Thursday it's hard to say what the ruling will be. Help fund the NPR Illinois mission to inform the community by securing business sponsorships. "Really, the sole purpose of the plan is to provide stability for our schools so we don't get caught in this flipping back and forth between legal cases because those are out of our control and we wanted to focus on what we could control," Cox said. HIRING! The parents from District 203 read from the temporary restraining order. All Rights Reserved. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of parents in 146 school districts in Macoupin County in mid-October last year. It is not the children you care about.". The group of parents released a statement on Oct. 25, 2021, through attorney Thomas DeVore regarding the lawsuit. 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In fact, the safety mitigations encompassed by the State's guidance, as well as vaccinations for children and adults, are the best ways to keep schools open and everyone healthy. District 181 schools went to remote learning Monday while administrators figure out how to interpret the ruling; the district is a party in the case. In allowing the TRO to remain in place against more than 140 school districts, the court said in a 24-page ruling, school district officials can decide how to address indoor masking requirements. ILLINOIS, USA A central Illinois judge has issued a temporary restraining order that prevents school districts statewide from requiring students to wear masks in classrooms, saying Gov.. The state's two. "I think they should follow health recommendations, which right now say kids should be in a mask<' said Reid McCollum, pro-mask parent. JB Pritzkers mandate requiring all students, faculty and staff at Illinois schools wear masks in the face of the coronavirus more contagious Delta variant spreading across the state. I mean obviously I'm still gonna wear it because I haven't gotten my booster yet, but I guess I'll just have to see," she said. It's just a piece of paper.". The high school parents challenging Illinois Gov. Jeff Schuler, Community Unit School District 200. The lawsuit demands that county health departments issue guidance on masks, in-person learning and quarantining students instead of state leaders and school districts. However, the more contagious Delta variant currently spreading has proven to infect children at higher rates that previous strains of COVID, and children with COVID have ended up hospitalized more frequently in recent weeks than at any time since the outbreak began. As we have from the beginning of the pandemic, the administration will keep working to ensure every Illinoisan has the tools needed to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. San Diego County has low community levels for COVID-19. Contact StevenSpearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie. "We're seeing it in so many places, tens of thousands of schools across the country, have been mask optional all year long.". Masks are required regardless of vaccination status.Pritzker said the mandate would protect unvaccinated children and adults, as well as the elderly and others with reduced immune systems who are more likely to develop breakthrough infections of COVID-19 even after they get vaccinations.Arrested:Rochester pastor accused of grooming minor, is suspended, Illinois school mask mandate lawsuit: What you need to know, Illinois school mask mandate lawsuit: What you need to know about a judges ruling that upended school COVID-19 rulesChicago-area school districts are relaxing their COVID-19 policies or revealing they plan to stay the course in the wake of an Illinois judges decision to temporarily prevent Gov. The lawsuit was filed by Greenville attorney Thomas DeVore, who has filed a number of lawsuits around the state related to the governor's executive orders issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recently, the State provided 350,000 rapid tests to Chicago Public Schools to facilitate a return to in person learning.To increase access to the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccination, the State has held 1,767 on-site vaccination clinics in schools and day camps with an additional 470 clinics already scheduled. A group of Wheaton parents gathered to protest outside District 200's headquarters Monday, demanding school administrators walk back its mask optional policy change. Contact StevenSpearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education last year, arguing there was no due process in Illinois statewide mask order. That, Craven said, would essentially be asking the Supreme Court to tell the appellate court to decide the case and would be on a faster track. TAYLOR RIDGE, Ill. Mask requirements, quarantine, COVID-19 vaccination mandates, and testing rules are temporarily blocked for Illinois schools following a judge's ruling on Feb 4. It also says its unlawful to require masks as a type of treatment without parental consent or a quarantine order from the courts. Rockton School District says it's still subject to the Governor's mask mandate. A judge in downstate Sangamon County granted a temporary restraining order Friday effectively prohibiting mask requirements for students in numerous school districts across the state. In St. Charles, district officials have also decided to cancel classes and use an emergency day Monday. Some school districts kept their mask rules in place, while others made them optional. A ruling on the order blocking the mask mandate in some schools could come as soon as Thursday The Illinois Association of School Administrators on Friday said about 700 districts it has. "We have wide spaces (and) large classrooms. It prohibited schools from requiring the plaintiffs kids to wear a mask unless there was consent or a court order. NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | The governor's office issued a news release saying schools may be forced to go remote if they don't have proper tools to keep students and staff safe. A Sangamon County judge has denied class action status for a lawsuit challenging Illinois' mask and vaccine mandates for school personnel. Justices Thomas Harris and Lisa Holder White concurred in most parts. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Illinois is requiring students . Oswego Community Unit School District 308 said it was "consulting with our district attorneys to further understand the impact of the decision for our students and staff.". legislative committee Tuesdaynot renewing the mask mandate, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. It is not the children you care about.Im not sure who you represent but it is not us, said another parent.The parents from District 203 read from the temporary restraining order. Some exceptions to the order apply. NBC 5 talked to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, about the state of COVID-19 in Illinois. Gov. But on July 27, the CDC reversed its guidance, recommending masking in schools, even for for fully vaccinated people, as the Delta variant rises and new studies were published about the possibility of rare breakthrough infections due to the strain's mutation. Illinois schools were scrambling to react after a ruling by a downstate judge Friday placed a temporary restraining order on Gov. The judge filed a temporary restraining order against Bond CountyCommunity UnitSchool DistrictNo. According to the ruling, collectively-bargained agreements remain enforceable, like the one between CPS and the Chicago Teachers Union. Last Friday, the judge in Sangamon County ruled against Governor JB Pritzkers mask mandate inside school buildings, in response to lawsuits involving parents and teachers from more than 150 districts.After that ruling went in favor the lawsuit, whose plaintiffs include parents from District 203, the board decided in a closed-door Sunday meeting that they would continue to require masks in schools.Naperville made a decision per the guidance of health departments, to continue the, Parents file lawsuit against 145 school districts over COVID-19 , WCIA.com MACOUPIN CO., Ill. (WCIA) A long list of parents filed a lawsuit against 145 school districts in Illinois Wednesday. ranted one parent. The legislation remains the subject of advocacy and outrage in parent Facebook groups against masking in schools. That wouldn't affect schools or congregate settings like hospitals and long-term care facilities. When it comes to relaxing mitigations in schools, Fauci said, "We're not there yet. Hundreds of thousands of students, teachers, and staff across Illinois are doing their best to remain healthy and keep schools open. When Judge Grischow announced her decision on 4:45 p.m. on Friday, her 29-page ruling didn't settle the questions about masking in school. Illinois has about 850 districts. "There is no rhyme or reason to have it, if people can have masks optional, that is the best decision for everyone," said Natalie Merchant, anti-mask parent. I think it's this document that has a list of the plaintiffs. They also voted that starting Tuesday, masks will be suggested but not required. Pritzker said the mandate would protect unvaccinated children and adults, as well as the elderly and others with reduced immune systems who are more likely to develop breakthrough infections of COVID-19 even after they get vaccinations. Pritzker responded to the ruling late Friday saying remote learning could take place due to the blocked mitigations. Effective September 23, 2022, in alignment with the California Department of Public Healths (CDPH) announcement. "Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of executive orders and emergency rules," she stated in the 29-page order. In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, p "We have had parent contact at board meetings and had conversations with a variety of parents, including the ones listed not all of them but also additional parents who have shared their concerns on both sides of the issue with the district," O'Laughlin said. Biden surveys Ida cleanup in, Newsfeed Now: UPS driver spreads joy with TikTok, Newsfeed Now: Hurricane Ida death toll rises after, Newsfeed Now: Supreme Court allows Texas abortion, Newsfeed Now: Pres. Our children deserve no less. Restaurant vaccine mandate, indoor mask rules could end 'soon' if COVID cases stay in free fall. Last Friday, the judge in Sangamon County ruled against Governor JB Pritzker's mask mandate inside school buildings, in response to lawsuits involving parents and teachers from more than 150 districts. The state's largest school district on Saturday said it would continue a mask mandate in its schools, along with staff vaccination and testing requirements, despite a ruling Friday by a. "They read the result of JCAR's action as the end of those emergency rules," Craven said, "and if they are no more, the court doesn't need to decide if they were valid or not.". J.B. Pritzker's ability to use emergency powers to cancel student sports and mandate athletes wear masks changed their lawsuit to try to block . Missouri Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt completed on Friday a promise made earlier this week by filing lawsuits against 36 public school districts for requiring masks. The appellate court's decision noted that the TRO "in no way restrains school districts from acting independently from the executive orders or the IDPH in creating provisions addressing COVID-19. The bicameral committee, made up of lawmakers from both parties, rejected the rule unanimously. Context: The protest unfolds as a Sangamon County circuit court judge prepares to rule on a lawsuit against 146 Illinois school districts mostly downstate but including CPS that challenges the mandate. "We recognize the challenges this decision may have on our families, but given the fluidity of the situation we strongly feel that this time is necessary to effectively plan for any potential impact on our students, staff, and school community," said Dr. Kent Mutchler, superintendent. Local The ruling announced Friday afternoon states defendants are temporarily restrained from, Read the Full Text: Judge's Ruling Halts Illinois School Mask , Read the Full Text: Judges Ruling Halts Illinois School Mask Mandate Published February 5, 2022 Updated on February 5, 2022 at 6:54 pm NBC Universal, Inc. A downstate Illinois judge issued a ruling declaring Gov. Biden announces aggressive new, Newsfeed Now: Biden to launch new plan against COVID-19, Newsfeed Now: Health experts concerned about COVID-19, Newsfeed Now: Pres. Illinois mask mandate will lift for residents Feb. 28, but students will have to continue wearing masks at schools. The IEMAA is largely silent on its applicability to school districts. DeVore claims it would take significant mental gymnastics to apply his powers under the IEMAA to local schools, and implored the court to intervene or risk a constitutional crisis. Schools without mask mandates face penalties from the state education board. Though the statewide mask mandate . Complaint filed . It was denied Class Action status. The Illinois Association of School Administrators on Friday said about 700 districts it has reached so far have a mask optional policy or will transition to one soon. What exactly happened with the ruling? The rules stemmed from a Sep. 17 executive orderfromPritzker outlining the now-voided requirements. More than two dozen Illinois school districts are on probation after flouting the statewide mask requirements for staff and students inside schools. Robert Frost 8th grader Teresa Watson said she wants to see how the mask optional policy goes. If such overreach is allowed to stand, the separation of powers will have been reduced to ashes and the executive will be allowed to disregard the legislature and create law, rules and regulations at his or her pleasure, the suit said. (CNN/WSIL) -- A group of parents in Illinois have filed a lawsuit against nearly 150 school districts and public officials challenging mask and quarantine policies. Unlike most of the suits filed by DeVore and others in the last 18 months, Mondays lawsuit does not challenge Pritzkers ability to issue continuous disaster declarations beyond the 30-day period provided for in the Illinois Emergency Management Agency Act, or IEMAA. DeVore was in the process of writing a temporary restraining order in the latest lawsuit Thursday afternoon. In some locales, there were protests at school board meetings. The Illinois Supreme Court granted Gov. J.B. Pritzkers emergency rules for COVID-19 mitigations in schools null and void, effectively stopping the states mask mandate in school buildings. All this is prompted by Gov. The case was filed in Macoupin County by attorney Thomas DeVore seeks declaratory judgment and injunctions against the schools, saying its unlawful to exclude students from school for allegedly being in close contact with a COVID-19 case without the consent of the parent or a court order that includes due process. The order was the result of. Geneva District 304 has declared Monday an emergency day as the schools work out what they will do regarding masks, officials announced Sunday night. While it has been a tumultuous past few weeks for schools, Illinois Education Association president Kathi Griffin, in a statement Friday, said she at least appreciated the clarity the decision brought forth. says it does have that power under the Department of Public Health Act. Some districts are put in a different situation due to collective bargaining agreements. "I'm not sure who you represent but it is not us," said another parent. Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow issued the order Friday afternoon in a lawsuit brought by hundreds of parents in more than 145 school districts who claim the mask order. In south suburban Burbank, School District 111 will "fully comply with the court's ruling," but recommends masks be worn by all students and staff in school buildings. Between vitriol, tears and begging for mask choice, just a few parents and a teacher stepped up to back the board's decision to keep masks mandatory for now. Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow issued the order Friday afternoon in a lawsuit brought by hundreds of parents in more than 145 school districts who claim the mask order denies students due process. Copyright 2023 WLS-TV. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) Several Central Illinois school districts are reacting to a ruling from a judge temporarily lifting COVID-related mandates in schools. However, the district explained there are students who have exceptions as they are included in the lawsuit in which the TRO was issued. Grischow's temporary restraining order blocks the nearly 170 school districts named in DeVore's lawsuits from enforcing mask requirements and exclusion rules for students and staff as well as.