Oak Lawn Schools Comply With Mask Mandate After Judge's Ruling

OAK LAWN, IL — Oak Lawn Community High School students showed up for class Monday morning “fully compliant” with the high school’s face mask policy after a downstate judge blocked Governor JB Pritzker's mask mandate inside school buildings to combat the spread of COVID-19. Over 150 lawsuits have been filed against the governor involving parents and teachers concerning government overreach.

Dist. 229 Superintendent Michael Riordan emailed students Monday morning stating that masks would continue to be worn by students, faculty and staff inside the school building. Other mitigation measures also remain in effect.

“I have consulted with legal experts to understand the implications of this [temporary restraining order] ruling on Oak Lawn Community High School,” Riordan told students.

Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow issued her ruling on Friday, essentially throwing the ball back into school districts’ laps to decide whether to continue the mask mandate or make it optional. The ruling also overruled several other parts of the governor’s mandate, including one issued last year mandating school employees to be vaccinated.

During a news conference Monday morning to discuss efforts to prevent expressway shootings, Pritzker said the judge’s ruling “cultivates chaos” and that, "poor legal reasoning should not take one of our most effective tools off the table so again, I have asked the attorney general to continue to aggressively appeal this decision."

Pritzker said districts not named in the lawsuit — and those with employee union agreements — must continue to follow his mandates.

A lawsuit filed by former D229 school board member Rob Cruz against Pritzker’s face mask mandate was dismissed in December. Cruz, who is running in the upcoming GOP primary for the 6th Congressional District, was removed from the Dist. 229 school board last month. OLCHS was not one of the school districts named in the lawsuit.

“This order has no impact on the OLCHS COVID-19 mitigation measures,” Riordan said. “We will continue enforcement of our ongoing COVID safety mitigation strategies.”

Meanwhile, Riordan said the district’s mitigation strategies would continue to focus on the safety and health of all OLCHS students and staff so that the school can continue in-person teaching and learning, including:

• Masks required by all while indoors (with a few exceptions)
• Distancing to the greatest degree possible and practical
• Weekly Shield testing for all staff and students (except those opted out)
• Mandated weekly negative testing for all unvaccinated staff members
• Isolation and quarantine enforcement for all as per the IDPH guidelines

“I would add that this situation may change over time,” Riordan added. “An appeal has been filed, and it is possible that future rulings may impact OLCHS. We will keep you informed of any updates.”

Over in Ridgeland Dist. 122, Supt. Joe Matise told Patch that they had no issues with students wearing masks at the district’s school buildings, including Kolb, Lieb, Columbus-Manor, Harnew and Simmons.

“Dist. 122 will continue to require masks in accordance with IDPH Guidelines,” Matisse said in an email.

The D122 school board is planning a special meeting at 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at Harnew Elementary School, 9101 S. Meade Ave., Oak Lawn.

“It will be more of a meeting to give people a chance to share their thoughts with the school board,” Matise said.

Superintendent Paul Enderle said the judge’s ruling on Friday did not affect Oak Lawn-Hometown Dist. 123 schools because no one associated with the district was part of the lawsuit. Enderle said the district would be monitoring the Attorney General’s appeal to file a legal motion halting any outcomes associated with the ruling.

“Moving forward, all current COVID-19 mitigations including universal face coverings, quarantine procedures, vaccination, and testing will remain in place,” Enderle said in an update posted to on the district’s website. “We will continue to make decisions strictly based on the recommendations and guidance from our public health providers and State authorities, which has served as a consistent factor in keeping District 123 children and staff safe throughout this pandemic.”

CHSD 218 Superintendent Ty Harting said in a statement on the district’s website that rules and mask guidelines for Richards, Shepard and Eisenhower high schools would remain in effect for all students and faculty “except for the one party who was part of the lawsuit.”

Cruz said that he was “personally happy” with the judge’s temporary restraining order, “regardless of my illegal removal from Dist. 229.”

“I encourage all parents to attend your next local school board meeting with a copy of
[Judge Grischowrder’s] order and request them to follow it,” Cruz said in a written statement.

“The progressive left continue to display behavior patterns consistent with an authoritative style of government. Reject this notion, America is great because we are free to choose … I hope to embolden all parents to attend meetings in February and provoke a local response chosen by the local leaders you elected last April.”