SPRINGFIELD – Illinois General Assembly's Joint Committee on Administrative rules voted Tuesday to block re-implementing Governor JB Pritzker's mask mandate for K-12 public and private schools in Illinois.
The 12-member committee, made up of Democrat and Republican members of the Illinois House and Senate, voted 9 for blocking the Governor's mandate, zero opposed and two voted present. One member was not present at the vote.
Illinois was the last remaining Midwestern state with a mask mandate for schools. Governor JB Pritzker announced last week the mandate would likely be lifted February 28th on indoor businesses, but not on schools.
On February 4th, a Sangamon County judge issued a temporary restraining order against the governor's school mask mandate, declaring the emergency rules as they applied to schools “null and void.”
Parents and students have been attending school board meetings to express their opposition or support for continuing the mask mandates. Some have been met with verbal resistance from school board members and intimidating police presence.
State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, said JCAR's decision was a "big win."
"Currently, there is no legal authority or emergency rule that allows Governor Pritzker to force schoolchildren to continue to wear masks. Governor Pritzker has done nothing to clear up the confusion he’s created, forcing chaos on children, parents, teachers, and schools. JB Pritzker has been defeated in court and now his emergency rule has been defeated by a legislative body.
"The Governor needs to accept the court’s decision and recognize that a co-equal branch of government has weighed in. The legislature has blocked the Governor’s emergency rule that says kids have to be in masks. The Governor should drop his continued insistence on school mask mandates,” Sosnowski said.
The Governor’s emergency rule on COVID mitigations for Illinois schools expired on Sunday, February 13. The Administration immediately re-filed the rule on Monday, putting it back into effect unless JCAR voted affirmatively to block it with a minimum of 8 members on the 12-member committee. Nine members voted to suspend the Governor’s emergency rule, with zero voting to keep it in place and two members voting “Present.”
Rep. Keith Wheeler agreed with Sosnowski's sentiments. He said the decision about mask mandates would now fall to local school districts.
“Parents and children across Illinois deserve certainty and clarity amid all the confusion and chaos created by Governor Pritzker’s decision to continually go it alone and work only through the courts instead of with stakeholders and families,” Wheeler said in a statement. “Locally elected school boards who are accountable to parents and know best for their districts, along with their local health department experts, should be allowed to make decisions on COVID mitigations that fit their communities best. With JCAR’s bipartisan ruling today, there is no statewide mask mandate in effect for schools, and the decision now belongs with the local school districts.”
All three House Republican members of JCAR voted to reject re-implementation of the Governor’s mask mandate, including Deputy GOP Leader Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon), Assistant GOP Leader Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-Oswego), and Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock).
The Governor’s emergency rule on COVID mitigations for Illinois schools expired on Sunday, February 13. The Administration immediately re-filed the rule on Monday, putting it back into effect unless JCAR voted affirmatively to block it with a minimum of 8 members on the 12-member committee. Nine members voted to suspend the Governor’s emergency rule, with zero voting to keep it in place and two members voting “Present.”
During the hearing, Representative Wheeler suggested to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) official testifying on behalf of the Pritzker Administration that the agency could have shown respect for the ongoing judicial process by issuing guidance to Illinois schools on recommended COVID mitigations instead of re-filing them as mandates in the form of an emergency rule. The IDPH official rejected that suggestion, reiterating the agency’s position of pressing forward with mandates rather than guidance.
Moments later, JCAR voted to approve a motion blocking re-implementation of the Governor’s mask mandate via emergency rule.
