CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Governor Pritzker said his administration is prepared to enforce its mask mandate for schools across the state, if it comes to that, but he hopes it does not.
Republican gubernatorial primary hopeful Darrin Bailey has called Governor Pritzker a “tyrant” for his mask mandate and called on people to urge their school board to, in his words, "stand up.” But Governor Pritzker said he expects school districts to meet their responsibility to protect children. And, if some defy the mandate?
"We have the legal authority to enforce this and we will if necessary. What we think is going to happen is that schools will follow this, do the right thing. Again this is about keeping our children and their families safe," Pritzker said.
Pritzker said non-compliant districts could be sued for not following the CDC guidelines and the state mandate, because of the issue of liability.
"They all have liability insurance. If you are not following the state mandate, it is reasonable that someone might file a lawsuit against a school if a student gets sick as a result of the school simply not following these mitigations," Pritzker said.
And, he said, the Illinois Board of Education could remove recognition status for a school that doesn’t follow state mandates, but he hopes it never gets that far.
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