No Masks Required For D128 Students Listed In Lawsuit

LIBERTYVILLE, IL — Most Community High School District 128 students will continue to be required to wear masks while at school. But students who were named as plaintiffs in a lawsuit regarding masking requirements will be able to take their masks off, school officials said Sunday

The announcement comes on the heels of a ruling by a downstate judge in favor of a temporary restraining order against school mask mandates. District 128 was among the school districts listed in the lawsuit, which was filed by more than 700 parents whose children attended schools across the state.

Masking has "allowed both Libertyville and Vernon Hills High School to remain open for in-person learning and extracurricular activities," said District 128 Superintendent Denise Herrmann in a statement Sunday.

Administrators from school districts across the Chicago area scrambled over the weekend to update their masking policies following the Friday ruling by Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow. Some schools are encouraging, but not requiring masks, while others took an emergency day on Monday to solidify plans.

On Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the "ruling is out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation."

The governor said he has asked Attorney General Kwame Raoul to ask another judge to quickly overturn the ruling.

"We want to make sure that we're getting an appeal heard as soon as possible," Pritzker said, "so that we can rid ourselves of the fog of the, frankly, not good decision by the Sangamon County court."

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