Elmhurst Lawmaker Blasts Governor On Masks

ELMHURST, IL — State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi, an Elmhurst Republican, on Thursday accused the governor of letting politics guide his decisions on the mask mandate.

This week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced in a news conference he planned to lift the mask mandate for indoor spaces, except schools, on Feb. 28.

In a statement, Mazzochi, who also represents parts of Hinsdale and Western Springs, disputed the governor's statement that his decision was based on changing data. She said that as a scientist, she analyzes data every day for work.

"I asked his team what studies and data he was relying on, and they could not or would not provide it," Mazzochi said. "Even more alarmingly, they could not produce any scientific data to justify the reasoning behind eliminating the mask mandate for restaurants and other crowded venues, but not for schools."

But she said the science has not changed.

"What changed is the political cost-benefit analysis. To him," the lawmaker said.

Mazzochi also said Pritzker has finally accepted what she said even the CDC admitted many months ago — that cloth masks don't work to protect against COVID-19.

But that's mischaracterizing what the CDC said. It said other masks, such as the N95, are more effective in preventing COVID-19. But the agency said that any mask was better than no mask. That change to its guidance came last month, not many months ago.

In an email to Patch, her spokeswoman, Amy Shanks, said in a statement, "The actual publications and studies that the CDC has cited on their website over the past few months that eventually inform the CDC's guidance updates have acknowledged no differences in outcomes."

Mazzochi noted the recent decision by a downstate judge to suspend the governor's mask mandate in nearly 150 school districts, including Elmhurst's.

"As for the schools, a court told Governor Pritzker you're doing it wrong," said Mazzochi, who is also a lawyer. "If you want this kind of power, go to the legislature to get it. If you delegate this power, you have to have the correct agency doing it. And if you are going to enforce this power, you have to give people due process."

Patch left a message with Pritzker's office.