CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Wearing a mask in public is required in Illinois, but there appears to be a movement to claim a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act so that shop owners won’t object.
Some conservative politicians have been pushing the idea for weeks: Don’t wear a mask if you don’t want to. Some claim masks pose a health risk to you and that the ADA protects you.
Greg Gibbs, the owner of Chicago Bagel Authority, says an unmasked customer came in on Saturday and claimed ADA protection.
“The manager who was working, who handled it, had the same impression, that the person was actually looking to be disruptive,” Gibbs said Tuesday.
He said something else was going on. After the customer left, he wrote Gibbs and said he would settle the whole thing before taking it to the Justice Department.
Gibbs says: “I don’t know if they wanted free sandwiches or what it was.”
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has ordered residents to wear a mask or face covering outside of their residences when social distancing is not possible. The order covers people over 2 who do not have health conditions preventing them from complying.
On Monday, the governor said the Department of Human Rights is looking into non-compliance scenarios and will be providing some guidance. “What we want here is the most number of people to be wearing a face covering,” Pritzker said.