Will County Gazette

Crete-Monee School District 201 officials are encouraging parents to have a talk with their children after the district recently became mask optional.

“Dear CM 201-U parents, staff, and community, in response to last night's ruling by the Illinois Appellate Court for the 4th District, beginning Tuesday, February 22, 2022, Crete-Monee School District 201-U will implement a 'mask optional' requirement at all school buildings and facilities,” school officials said in a post to Facebook. “We ask that you please have a conversation with your children about whether or not you would like them to wear a mask at school. Please also discuss with them the importance of respecting the decision of others as we all seek to navigate these new changes.”

The new order comes in the wake of Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow issuing a temporary restraining order (TRO) effectively ending enforcement of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s executive orders on masks in schools. As part of her 30-page ruling, Grischow further stipulated state law designates the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) as the “supreme authority” in matters of quarantine and isolation, not the governor. The judge also asserted that IDPH must adhere to state law in making sure due process standards are upheld in every instance.

While the governor has gone on record with plans to lift the general statewide mask mandate by the end of February, he has been far less clear about the one impacting schools across the state.

Though more than 550 school districts across the state have gone mask optional, Pritzker has appealed thejudge’s ruling, prompting Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) to  accuse the governor of trying to subvert the state’s court system to keep his policy standards in place.

Grischow also wrote that many of those opposed to Pritzker's position haven’t always had the benefit of due process in making their arguments.

“The arbitrary method as to contact tracing and masking in general continue to raise fair questions as to the legality of the Executive Orders in light of violations of healthy children’s substantive due process rights,” she wrote. “Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules … This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain.”

In separate cases, the judge has denied motions for there to be class status, meaning the TRO would only impact the plaintiffs and the school districts that are part of the suit. In addition, Grischow has ordered Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez to appear before the court to answer a contempt of court complaint on the district’s behalf.

"It is ordered that Mr. Pedro Martinez, as agent for the City of Chicago School District #299, and the Board of Education of City of Chicago School District #299, shall personally appear before this court and show cause as to why the defendants should not be held in contempt for failure to abide by and comply with this Court's prior order of February 04, 2022," Grischow’s Feb. 14 order reads.

With parents all over the state seeking to end masking, CPS was one of 145 defendant school districts sued by those looking to erase all mandates. As the cases have made their way through the court system, attorney Tom DeVore has threatened to sue CPS for not obeying a restraining order preventing the district from treating students who unmask differently from those who continue to mask.

Within 24-hours of Grischow making her decision public, the DuPage Policy Journal reported Hinsdale Central High school officials were captured on video guiding students who refused to wear masks into an isolated area of the school. DeVore has now vowed to start pursuing criminal complaints for contempt of court against school officials who abuse the rights of plaintiffs that are part of the suit.

“If I can confirm that the Hinsdale School District or any school district is isolating children that are plaintiffs in this case, and I know that to be true, I'm going to ask the judge, 'Put somebody in the county jail' as soon as I have the first available opportunity,” he said. “That's what I'm going to try to do because they cannot do that.”