Chicago City Wire

AWAKE Illinois founder Shannon Adcock claims a bill now being proposed by Democrats in Springfield is designed to make Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest school masking mandates legal.  

Proposed by state Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D-Chicago), House Bill 4135 would grant the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) the authority to “revoke the standing of a district for not following health rules during times of disaster declared by the governor.”

The proposal comes after the governor recently reimposed a universal masking mandate requiring all public and private school students to wear masks.  

“A lawmaker introduced a bill that would give the Illinois State Board of Education authority to punish schools not following Gov. Pritkzker’s COVID rules, which signals the governor and ISBE don’t yet have that authority,” AWAKE posted on its Twitter page. “They are trying to retroactively cover their tracks”

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) is among those sharing Adcock’s views. 

“I think this is an admission, at least upon Rep. Gonzalez that the governor’s executive order doesn’t have the force of law when it comes to this particular thing,” he said. “If he’s introducing legislation to make it law, then the executive order doesn't have the force of law. Look, these decisions need to be made locally in my opinion.”

None of that has been enough to slow Pritzker, who to date has placed at least 60 schools on probation for not adhering to his dictum, meaning they are no longer recognized by ISBE, potentially threatening state funding for those schools. If they comply, the state can restore recognition.

Adcock said she has no doubt where the vast majority of voters stand on the issue, pointing out that HB 4135 closely mirrors House Bill 2789, which passed the House back in April but by the time it had moved to Senate committee, nearly 17,000 witness slips were signed opposing it.