Chicago City Wire

A Circuit Court judge issued a temporary restraining order on Feb. 4, preventing schools in Illinois from requiring masks in classrooms, reversing orders by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The ruling by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow also overturns other COVID-19 measures implemented by the governor in response to the pandemic, including the requirement for school staff to be vaccinated.

Grischow’s 30-page decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by parents and teachers objecting to the constitutionality of imposed mandates. Grischow agreed, saying the blanket executive orders imposed by the governor “bypassed” the rights of citizens.

“Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules,” Grischow wrote in her decision. “This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain.”

The superintendent of Chicago Catholic Schools said he has no plans to acknowledge the Circuit Court ruling. In an email to parents, Greg Richmond said the school will continue with the current mask policy. Richmond said the temporary restraining order would likely be overturned and didn’t apply to his schools because it's “a health and safety” issue.

"A court case is not medicine," he wrote. "While we follow the laws that apply to us, our decisions about the health and safety of our students and staff will always be guided by health data and in consultation with doctors and trained public health officials."

"The governor has already indicated he will appeal this ruling, which might lead to its immediate reversal," he continued. "We are closely monitoring the case, which will likely involve continued litigation."

Richmond said letting students attend class maskless "would create confusion and disruption in our schools."

In January, Chicago Cardinal Blasé J. Cupich mandated that students wear masks at recess before revoking the order after receiving extensive backlash from parents.

The Archdiocese has maintained a firm policy mandating masks be worn in classrooms. Attempts to get medical exemptions for disabled children have proven difficult.

Archdiocese parent Keith Walisiak has a son who suffers from a neurological condition, but he was denied a medical exemption from wearing a mask. He was one of several archdiocese parents who walked their children to school Monday and asked them to be seated without masks. He plans to do the same thing now that the temporary restraining order has been issued.

"I'll probably just give them my letter and walk my kids into the front door without masks and see how the principal reacts and go from there,” Walisiak said. “The pressure is on the school, not the parents, they have to right this wrong.”

Walisiak challenged the archdiocese to produce data that indicates masks are necessary.  

“Richmond also said these illegal and unconstitutional mandates are predicated on data from doctors and trained medical professionals,” Walisiak said. "If that's the case release the data immediately. I mean you only have two years of it at this point. Surely he can back up why he still enforces such tyranny over his students and faculty.”

Erin Bourke sought an exemption for her 4-year-old son, Bobby, who suffers from a rare condition and is deaf in one ear. He depends on lip-reading and facial expressions to communicate, and wearing masks makes that difficult. The archdiocese initially denied the claim but later approved his case.

Bourke has heard from the parents of other hearing-impaired children at archdiocesan schools where masks interfere with their disabled child’s ability to speak. 

“These poor individuals who are hearing impaired, who have been suffering over the past two years, I think they need a voice,” she said in a story by Chicago City Wire. “So we're putting ourselves out there, which makes everyone nervous, but it's for a better cause for our children who have disabilities.”

A 2010 research article by Dr. Larry E. Bowen of the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Ala., supports Walisiak. His report tested various types of masks on mannequins and found wearing surgical, bandana and dust masks offer “very little protection.” 

 It also said data indicated wearing masks “may produce a false sense of protection.”