Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will lift his indoor mask mandate for most public places on Feb. 28 if the state’s largest COVID-19 surge continues to subside.
Pritzker wants to keep mask mandates in place for schools, as his administration sought to overturn a court ruling that called into question his legal authority for mandating face coverings, quarantines and, for school staff members, vaccinations or testing.
The ruling by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow threw schools into disarray, as some districts immediately switched to a mask optional policy while others only allowed students whose families were part of the lawsuit to be exempt from mask requirements. Chicago Public Schools is continuing universal masking and other COVID-19 mitigation measures, while some suburban districts that initially kept their requirements in place have since given way to more lenient policies.
An Illinois appeals court threw out the governor’s request. The ruling effectively means Illinois school districts no longer must require students and staff to mask up, though the decision leaves room for school systems to implement their own COVID-19 safety rules.
In addition to schools, the governor’s current plan calls for people to continue masking in health care settings and on public transportation, due in part to federal requirements. Cities and businesses still will be allowed to maintain more stringent requirements.
Here’s what we know about the latest mandate shift.
Chicago to drop mask and proof-of-vaccine mandates at the end of the month
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced the city will drop its mask mandate for most settings as well as its proof-of-vaccination mandate at restaurants, bars and other indoor establishments at the end of the month Monday, reflecting a renewed hope for normalcy in the city as COVID-19 cases continue dropping from alarming highs.
Lightfoot said she will “not hesitate” to impose new rules and mandates to protect public health in the future but said her goal is to never “shut down our economy again.”
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Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s statewide school masking rule undone by courts. Here’s what happened.
Until now, J.B. Pritzker has seen his emergency orders throughout the pandemic upheld by the courts — and the appellate court’s action did not address the legality of the governor’s use of emergency powers.
But that hasn’t stopped Republicans from accusing Pritzker of seeking to usurp the rights of parents and local school boards.
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Illinois court dismisses appeal over school masks; districts no longer mandated to require them
An Illinois appeals court has thrown out Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s request to keep a state school mask mandate in place.
The ruling effectively means Illinois school districts no longer must require students and staff to mask up.
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Pritzker’s school mask mandate is losing steam as suburban Chicago districts go mask optional
Despite lawmakers soundly rejecting the Illinois Department of Public Health’s bid to extend its COVID-19 rules for schools this week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Wednesday his executive order on masks and other virus protocol still stand and should be followed by Illinois school districts.
Speaking at a news conference in Springfield on Wednesday, Pritzker said the purpose of the health department filing the rule, which was quashed by a bipartisan legislative panel, was to make a “procedural step to simply keep the status quo” while an appellate court reviews a ruling preventing the mask mandate and other COVID-19 measures for schools from being enforced statewide.
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Chicago’s top doctor hints the city mask mandate could end when the state drops its rule on Feb. 28
Concerns about COVID-19 have resulted in people wearing personal protective items while in public.
Chicago public health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady suggested Tuesday that the end of the city’s indoor mask mandate could align with the lifting of Illinois’ requirement on Feb. 28 after all, even if the city’s COVID-19 metrics haven’t been at a lower level for long enough.
“It can be confusing if there’s a difference of a few days,” Arwady said about matching the city’s and state’s dates for removing the mandate. “We’re going to see where we are next week and make a decision sort of either way there.”
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Democratic lawmakers join GOP to block Pritzker administration effort to set school mask rules ahead of appellate court ruling
Bucking Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a handful of Democratic state lawmakers on Tuesday joined Republicans to block a rule aimed at ensuring school districts that aren’t party to an ongoing lawsuit continue enforcing mask requirements and other restrictions, adding another layer of confusion to an already chaotic situation.
The state public health department had reissued an emergency rule for schools Monday that deleted some references to “isolation” and “quarantine” that were central to a ruling earlier this month from a central Illinois judge who said Pritzker overstepped his legal authority in mandating masks and other measures in schools.
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Pandemic endgame: As Illinois aims to ease masking restrictions, experts weigh in on the right time to return to normalcy
As Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Wednesday announced plans to lift most state indoor masking requirements by the end of the month, medical experts and Illinois residents remained divided on the best timeline to end COVID-19 protocols and return to pre-pandemic normalcy.
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Illinois school mask mandate lawsuit: What you need to know about a judge’s ruling that upended school COVID-19 rules
Chicago-area school districts are relaxing their COVID-19 policies or revealing they plan to stay the course in the wake of an Illinois judge’s decision to temporarily prevent Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandate and other safety measures from being enforced statewide.
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Ruling on Illinois school mask mandate throws districts into chaos
A judge’s recent ruling that Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 mask mandate was authorized illegally prompted chaos and confusion at school districts across Illinois, as increasingly volatile battles over virus mitigation strategies further divided communities and forced some schools to cancel classes.
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Two CPS parents in school mask lawsuit say their kids were told to wear masks or leave Mount Greenwood school, want district held in contempt of court
A Chicago Public Schools principal and the athletic director for Vernon Hills High School have been ordered to appear in court later this month to explain why they should not be held in contempt for allegedly violating a temporary restraining order preventing Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandate from being enforced statewide.
Two CPS parents who participated in attorney Tom DeVore’s school mask lawsuit filed a petition against the Chicago Board of Education on Monday, saying their children were told to wear a mask or leave Mount Greenwood Elementary School. A similar petition has been brought against Community High School District 128, which includes Vernon Hills and Libertyville high schools.
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Chicago-area schools see more protests and student walkouts over state’s mask mandate
Just days after Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state’s mask mandate will be lifted Feb. 28 for most of the general public, but not for schools, and following an Illinois judge’s ruling that the state’s masking requirements for students was authorized illegally, Illinois schools have been thrust into chaos and uncertainty.
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Downstate judge finds in favor of parents who object to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s school mask mandate; CPS says COVID-19 protocols will continue
Hundreds of students at Chicago Public Schools and at scores of districts across the state may be freed from wearing 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 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.
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Illinois parents and educators call for COVID-19 exit strategy after schools left out of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to lift mask mandate
With Illinois schools blocked from Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to lift the statewide mask mandate, frustrated educators and parents said escalating tensions and plunging virus rates heighten the need for a pandemic exit strategy for beleaguered school districts.
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