By Illinois Review
While President Joe Biden appeared at a White House ceremony wearing a face mask this week, his education secretary, who led the charge and the drafting of the controversial letter written by the National School Boards Association (NSBA), which referred to parents who voiced their concerns at local school board meetings as “domestic terrorists,” toured an elementary school in Springfield alongside Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday.
With Chicago hosting the 2024 Democratic National Convention next August, Illinois has become a popular place to visit for Biden and his administration officials.
The visit by US Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was part of the Biden Administration’s “Raise the Bar: Lead the World” agenda to accelerate learning and address the teacher shortage, among other initiatives, in a national effort to improve academic excellence.
Republican US Rep. Mary Miller was quick to respond to the education secretary’s visit to Illinois, posting on X, “FLASHBACK: The last Pritzker-Cardona bus tour was to force illegal mask and vaccine mandates. Have they ever explained why they both needed masks while they were “fully vaccinated” and standing outside?”
Rep. Miller also included a statement challenging Pritzker and Cardona’s opposition to “parental rights” and their support for “radical ‘gender’ ideology” being taught in the classrooms. The congresswoman ended her statement with a question:
“Are you going to ignore parents by once again forcing your illegal COVID mask mandates on our students?”
A COVID vaccine for the new variant is expected to go public soon, according to the White House, and many are asking officials, including Gov. Pritzker, if the new vaccine will lead to new mandates.
During a recent press conference, Gov. Pritzker indicated that he had not yet made a decision on whether to mandate the new vaccine, saying, “tentatively, I’ve not decided finally yet.”
