In a comment, one educator and a mother of three children at St. John Fisher School asked the archdiocese to look at what fear is doing to the children in their schools, referencing the statewide mask mandates. | Pixabay
In a comment, one educator and a mother of three children at St. John Fisher School asked the archdiocese to look at what fear is doing to the children in their schools, referencing the statewide mask mandates. | Pixabay
A temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow Feb. 4 preventing Illinois schools from requiring masks in the classroom has come in light of debates over how schools should handle public health concerns.
In a comment, one educator and a mother of three children at St. John Fisher School asked the Archdiocese of Chicago to look at what fear is doing to the children in their schools, referencing the statewide mask mandates.
“I am disappointed with the way the church … has handled the situation with my kids. But again, we're a forgiving people. We can move past this, and I am praying for all of the leaders in the church and in the schools and in the archdiocese,” she said. “I just want them to speak up ... for the voiceless.”
This new TRO comes in response to multiple lawsuits filed by parents and teachers across the states.
In a 30-page ruling Friday night, Grischow declared Gov. J.B. Pritzker's blanket state emergency school rule on masks and tests through the Illinois Department of Public Health "null and void." She said the governor and his agencies have been mandating rules upon students illegally.
“Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of executive orders and emergency rules … This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain," she wrote.
One leader of one of the nation's major Catholic activist organizations, Brian Burch of Catholic Vote, took concerns to new heights, telling the Chicago City Wire parents should remove their children from the classrooms of Illinois Catholic school officials who breach state laws by forcing students to wear masks.
In response to the order, Chicago Catholic Schools Superintendent Greg Richmond said indicating that allowing students to attend class without a mask is not a good idea, stating it "would create confusion and disruption in our schools."
Regardless of whether their school was included in the ruling or not, a growing number of parents have begun sending students to schools without masks. One parent told the DuPage Policy Journal that Hinsdale Central High School has moved maskless students into auditoriums where they are isolated from other students.
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