Illinois ruling favors parents who object to governor's school mask mandate; state seeking appeal

CHICAGO — Thousands of students at scores of school districts across the state may no longer be required to wear a mask in the classroom, with an Illinois judge ruling Friday that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mandate was authorized illegally.

Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow on Friday granted a request from downstate attorney Tom DeVore to temporarily halt the governor’s executive orders on masking and quarantining for schools, finding that the measures are beyond the governor’s authority and deprive students of due process.

“This court acknowledges the tragic toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken, not only on this State, but throughout the nation and globe,” Grischow wrote in the decision. “Nonetheless, it is the duty of the Courts to preserve the rule of law and ensure that all branches of government act within the boundaries of the authority granted under the Constitution.”

Pritzker issued a statement late Friday saying he asked the attorney general’s office for an immediate appeal of the decision.

“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.

In her ruling, the judge sided with parents who allege that students who object to wearing masks or being excluded from school for being a COVID-19 close contact are entitled to due process, and that such measures are a form of “modified quarantine” that can only be required by the local health department.

“The (Illinois Department of Public Health) is limited by law to delegating its authority only to certified local health departments and has not been authorized by the Legislature to delegate any of its authority to any other body of government, including school districts,” she wrote.

The restraining order prevents the state from ordering school districts to require students involved in the lawsuit to wear masks if they object, “except during the terms of lawful order of quarantine issued from their respective health department.” The order also prevents the state from requiring school districts to force school employees who sued to get vaccinated or test weekly if they object, “without first providing them due process of law.”

Grischow denied DeVore’s request that the lawsuits be given class certification, which if granted, would have extended the ruling to all students at the nearly 170 school districts named in the two lawsuits — one filed by parents against 146 school districts, and a second filed by school employees against 21 school districts.

Although she denied class certification, Judge Grischow pointed out in a footnote to the decision that she had declared the emergency rules at issue from the Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education void. “Thus, non-named Plaintiffs and School Districts throughout this State may govern themselves accordingly,” she wrote.

The judge’s ruling means that any school district that attempts to enforce the mask requirement against any student whose parents joined the lawsuit would be held in contempt of court, according to DeVore, who said parents who want the ruling to apply to their children can join the lawsuit.

DeVore, an outspoken critic of Pritzker’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, has long argued that the school mask mandate and other mitigation strategies the governor has declared by executive order could not be enforced unless they were formally approved by the General Assembly.

“I don’t pretend to understand the political complexities at Chicago Public Schools, but I do know the law can’t be disregarded, and you’ve got a judge who upheld the law as it’s written,” DeVore said shortly after Judge Grischow issued the ruling.

CPS officials were not immediately available for comment Friday.

But in a recent parent message, CPS CEO Pedro Martinez said if the temporary restraining order was granted, it “would require that CPS stop the enforcement of certain current health and safety protocols, including the wearing of masks.”

“If a TRO is issued, CPS will continue to fight against this lawsuit and immediately file for a ‘stay’ asking that the judge’s order not be enforced while we appeal the court’s decision,” Martinez said.

“Whatever happens with these lawsuits, CPS will strongly encourage all students and staff to continue wearing masks as they have successfully done throughout the school year,” Martinez said.

“We are confident that the vast majority of our school communities will do exactly this, because it is in all of our best interests to stay safe,” he said, adding: “We feel confident that any change would likely be temporary. We would hope to quickly return to implementing all of the proven protocols that we know are keeping staff and students safe, including the wearing of masks.”

At Arlington Heights School District 25, which was named in the school employees’ lawsuit, officials said late Friday that the district is “reviewing the judge’s ruling and will reach out to our staff and our community when we have further information.”

Many Illinois school districts have said that regardless of the outcome, they will continue to strongly encourage students and staff to follow the state’s masking guidelines and other COVID-19 protocols.

The judge’s decision brought relief to parents like Shannon Adcock, a Naperville mother of three, and one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Indian Prairie School District 204.

“We had a victory for liberty today, and the kids will finally be able to go to school mask-free,” said Adcock, the president of the parents group Awake Illinois.

“This is a legitimate due process ruling, and you’re going to see a lot of families pushing back now,” Adcock said.

Steve Lucie, a farmer and former longtime school board member with Warsaw Community Unit School District 316, said his involvement in upending the governor’s school mask mandate and other COVID-19 mitigations started at his “kitchen table with a few farmers and neighbors.”

“This ruling is euphoric for all of these parents, and mostly for the kids,” Lucie said.

“Some people aren’t ready for this, which I understand, but it’s been our stance all along that parents need to make that choice on their own,” he said.

Officials with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the state’s school board were not immediately available for comment on Friday.

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