POMONA – State Rep. Paul Jacobs (R-Pomona) is sounding off after Governor JB Pritzker announced his plan to end indoor mask mandates for public places and gatherings starting Feb. 28. Jacobs says the lack of a plan to end mask mandates for school children is unacceptable.
“Late last week, an Illinois judge placed a temporary hold on the Governor’s mask, vaccine, testing, and quarantine mandates at Illinois schools involved in a lawsuit encompassing 170 Illinois school districts. The judge’s decision prevents schools involved in the lawsuit from implementing those kinds of mitigations. The judge also noted that all Illinois schools should act in accordance with her decision and prevents the Governor or his administration from trying to enforce their mitigations on any schools.
Since the onset of this pandemic, I have advocated for giving a stronger voice to the people of Illinois and their local communities when it comes to COVID-19 mitigations. For those of you who are in school districts not listed as a defendant in the court case, you now have that voice and can request your local elected school officials to update their current policies.
There is no reason to continue to punish school children with burdensome mask mandates while dropping the mandate for the general public. Like many of his edicts, Executive Orders, and mandates, the Governor’s continued stubborn resistance to allowing local control must end.
The Governor has NO plan to remove masks for our students at this point. If people are able to go to WalMart, or the mall or attend a concert mask-free, our school children should be able to attend school without having to wear a mask.”
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