Chicago City Wire

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is facing yet another contempt of court hearing for the continued forced masking of students. 

Attorney general candidate Tom DeVore, the attorney responsible for ending compulsory masking in schools, said CPS and a handful of other school districts involved in his case were violating student rights by forcing CPS’s 340,000 student population to wear masks situationally, such as when returning from illness.

“I'm waiting for the judge to give me a hearing on the restraining order against CPS," DeVore said. "So I know we'll get the order from her once we get a hearing. But one of the bad things about this case is all being transferred into Sangamon County. It’s actually got these judges strung out. They’re not pissed about it, but they're trying to incorporate all of this stuff into their regular schedules. Judge Grischow told us how I filed that thing a week and a half ago, and she says, 'I don't have any time until maybe May 23 to get a hearing date.' And we're still tentatively waiting on that.” 

Devore asserted that “CPS is playing the game." He also mentioned Naperville and estimated that there may be five out of the 850 that are still trying to play the game, "all up here in the northern part of the state,” he said. 

“We're only dealing with two or three school districts out of 850," DeVore said. "So and most of the time, the school districts like, again, CPS is the best example. You know, it's almost like it's more of a political issue than it is from any facts and science perspective. I mean, for whatever reason, the Chicago Teachers Union is the one calling the shots and pulling all the strings, thinking that they have an obligation to protect the greater community outside the school district. And, you know, from a facts and science perspective, I don't think that has a lot of merit. But, I mean, this is all political at this point.”

DeVore’s comments come as some school districts — outside of those protected by his original class action — have decided to return to full-on masking, North Cook News reported. Evanston High School District 202 decided this week to mask its more than 3,700 students. 

"All ETHS students and staff — regardless of vaccination status — will be required to wear masks indoors at this time. Should conditions change, ETHS will adjust and communicate updates," the notice said. 

While only a handful of school districts have backslid on masking, that majority appear to be complying with judges' orders noting the practice’s unconstitutionality. Under state law, only local health authorities can institute such rules, which are a form of quarantine, not school officials.

CPS schools chief Pedro Martinez was set to appear in court in March after the school persisted in forcing kids to wear masks, but that hearing was nullified when an appellate court overturned masking rules — what was thought to be for good, Chicago City Wire reported. Martinez waited out the clock and only charged the school system’s policy to mask optional on March 10, a day before he was set to face the court in his last order to show for contempt. That was five weeks after a circuit court judge initially ruled the policy to be illegal.

Mask mandates do not adhere to academic findings. A study of 35 European countries released in April, found "that countries with high levels of mask compliance did not perform better than those with low mask usage," Cureus reported.