CHICAGO (WREX) â€� Illinois Governor JB Pritzker made his first public comments Monday afterÌýa Sangamon County judgeÌýblocked the governor's mask executive orderÌýon Friday.
The governor spoke during an unrelated news conference in Chicago.Ìý
The governor saysÌýSangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow's ruling was "out of step with the vast majority of legal analysis in Illinois and across the nation."
The judge's ruling allowed school district's to decide whether or not students needed to wear masks while in the classroom.Ìý
Gov. Pritzker says the judge's decision puts a constrains school district's ability to ensure safe, in-person learning environments. He also said the decision left more questions than answers.Ìý
"The judge's decision cultivates chaos for parents, families, teachers and school administrators across the state," Gov. Pritzker said.Ìý
Several school districts across the state, including in southern Illinois, have made the choice to walk back several COVID-19 policies. However, the governor urged school districts across the state to keep the mask mandate in place.
"The Illinois schools who have not been named as a defendant in the lawsuit should continue to follow the prescribed public health protocols, which have proven to reduce school exclusion rates and have made it possible for our kids to continue to learn safely in-person," the governor said. "Masks keep kids safely in school in-person."
In Friday's ruling, Judge Raylene Grischow wrote that Pritzker overstepped his legal authority with the mandate and determined that other emergency orders he issued to combat the spread of COVID-19, including one that mandates vaccinations for school employees, are “null and void.�
The governor says while the metrics are trending the right direction to remove masks, we're not there yet and the judge's decision will not help.Ìý
"For this specific case, poor legal reasoning should not take away one of our most effective tools off the table," Pritzker said.Ìý
Pritzker says he's asked Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul to overturn the judge's decision as quick as possible.Ìý
If overturned, the school district's who have rescinded a mask mandate would be forced to immediately reimplement a mask mandate for their schools.Ìý
