School Board Member Curses At Maskless Man

GLENVIEW, IL — A school board member has come under fire after comments he made during a recent Glenbrook High School District 225 Board of Education meeting. Joel Taub, who has served on the school board since 2007, was heard on camera Monday night shouting profanities at a citizen, who said he couldn't wear a mask while speaking due to a medical exemption.

"You can wear the mask on your f------ balls," Taub is heard saying off-camera in a nearly three-minute clip that has been shared nationally, including on Fox News. "If you don’t wear the f------ mask, you get the f--- out of here. Get him the f--- out of the room if he can't put his mask on."

A number of people — including the mayor of Aurora and the Northfield Township Republican Organization — are calling for Taub's resignation following the incident.

RELATED: District 225, Not Named In Lawsuit, Will Continue Mask Policy

District 225 currently requires masks for all on-district campuses and vaccine requirements for staff. On Friday, a downstate appellate court ruled that an emergency rule regarding a statewide mask mandate for schools has expired and that an appeal of a temporary restraining order issued that keeps schools from enforcing the mandate is "moot."

"The administrative team and staff have diligently been working proactively on what this means for our District moving forward," District 225 Superintendent Charles Johns said Friday in response to the latest ruling in a letter to parents.

According to the district's website, a special emergency board meeting is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Johns said in the letter the meeting will address the impact of the Appellate Court Ruling on the mask mandate and the staff vaccination and testing mandate. Find more information here.

During the public comments section of the Monday meeting, Mark Weyermuller, who resides in Wilmette, approached the podium and removed his mask. A committee moderator asked Weyermuller to put his mask back on, according to rules Taub later said were established prior to the meeting. Weyermuller first cited President Joe Biden and Gov. J.B. Pritzker as people who don't wear masks when speaking as reasons why he didn't need to wear one, before saying he couldn't wear a mask due to a medical exemption.

During a tense back-and-forth, the moderator eventually told Weyermuller he could speak without the mask, but Taub openly questioned that decision. Weyermuller asked Taub if he was the "mask police" and requested the board member be removed from the meeting.

"This is not what you promised," Taub is heard off-camera saying to the moderator. "You said if they don't wear a mask, they can't speak."

That led to applause from some of the audience, which included parents and students from the district.

Weyermuller responded by saying that he has a mask and can "wear it on my head if you want." This is when Taub responded with a number of profanities and asked the audience member to be removed from the meeting. Eventually, a five-minute recess was called.

"I apologize for the language I used at our recent board meeting. My duty is to serve our community with professionalism, and I regret letting my frustration get the best of me at this stage of the global pandemic," Taub said in a statement released to Patch. "I remain deeply committed to the education of our students and will refocus my energy on that integral responsibility.

Weyermuller, according to his Twitter profile, is a "taxpayer advocate, Cubs fan, conservative citizen journalist and frequent guest on Chicago talk radio."

In a social media post, the Northfield Township Republican Organization said Taub should resign immediately.

"No one should ever speak to others the way Mr. Taub did at that school board meeting, which is why he must resign," said Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin, who is running for governor. "Mr. Taub's outrageous behavior is yet another example of the disrespect and assault on parent's rights from school board members who take their lead from J.B. Pritzker and his govern by fiat agenda."

WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised. Here is the video of the incident, courtesy of Steven Yasell, director of Yissilmissil Productions.