CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- An Illinois appellate court has dismissed an appeal by Gov. J.B. Pritzker to keep a state mandate requiring masks to be worn in schools to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The ruling, issued by a three-judge panel late Thursday, involved a temporary restraining order by a Sangamon County judge about two weeks ago suspending the mandate.
Since then, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules has refused to extend the mandate and other emergency measures taken by Gov. J.B. Pritzker during the pandemic.
“Because the emergency rules voided by the TRO are no longer in effect, a controversy regarding the application of those rules no longer exists,” the appellate court wrote. “Thus, the matter is moot.”
The appellate court noted that school districts are free to impose mask mandates or take other steps to address COVID-19. Chicago Public Schools said it will continue requiring masks.
“Our schools will continue to enforce these policies, including mandated universal masking. These safety measures are what have allowed us to provide our students with the in-person learning environment they need throughout this school year,” CPS said in a statement Friday morning.
“We will continue to follow these protocols until such time as our public health partners advise us that restrictions can be safely lifted.”
The case involved a lawsuit by more than 150 school districts who challenged the mandate. On Feb. 4, Judge Raylene Grischow sided with the districts who argued that no one could be excluded from school for health reasons without family consent or a public health order.
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Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul appealed the ruling on Feb. 7, contending Grischow’s ruling could mean “widespread transmission” of the coronavirus “within schools and in the broader community, increased hospitalizations and deaths, and school staff shortages” leading to a return to remote learning or even school closures.
The judge’s decree also invalidated other Pritzker orders, including required vaccinations for school employees.
While the appeal was being argued, the state’s emergency rules — covering masks, testing and exclusion for those exposed to the coronavirus in schools — expired on Sunday.
On Tuesday, the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, an oversight panel composed of Democratic and Republican lawmakers tasked with reviewing rules made by state agencies, voted 9-0 to suspend the emergency rules, citing the ongoing court battle.
The appellate court cited that decision in its ruling Thursday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2022. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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