Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Carbondale) | Courtesy photo
Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Carbondale) | Courtesy photo
State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) views a Sangamon County Circuit judge's temporary restraining order against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s school mask and testing mandate as a win for all.
“Last week’s ruling is a victory for our students, teachers, and school districts in general,” Jacobs said in a post to his website. “I have long advocated that these public health decisions be left to local officials. I support wearing a mask if you want to, but I don’t think the government has the right to dictate that you do.”
In rendering her ruling, Judge Raylene Grischow blasted the mandates as a “type of evil” that the law was meant to repress.
“I am happy for our school kids, who for more than 700 days have not had a ‘normal’ day of school,” Jacobs said. “It is my hope that the governor would follow the lead of other states, and drop his unilateral mandates related to the virus.”
While Pritzker has already vowed to appeal the verdict, Jacobs said it won’t make much of a difference.
“The people of Illinois have had enough,” he said. “It is long past time that we unmask our kids and get them back to a normal footing in our schools. The governor should drop his mandates-first policies, and withdraw his appeal to this ruling.”
In asserting that all districts are free to govern themselves accordingly, Grischow ordered districts to “temporarily halt requiring masks and excluding children from school and stop requiring vaccines or testing for teachers, unless there’s individual due process.”
The suit was filed on behalf of more than 700 parents across the state by attorney Thomas DeVore. The filing named roughly 170 school districts, the Pritzker administration and state education officials as plaintiffs.
Even as he’s announced plans to lift the state mask mandate by the end of the month, Pritzker stands firm on the mandate where schools are concerned.
“Schools need a little more time for community infection rates to drop, for our youngest learners to become vaccine eligible and for more parents to get their kids vaccinated,” he said.
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