Illinois To Drop Indoor Masking Rules Except In Schools, Which Leads To Walkouts And Protests

(Chicago, IL)  Illinois’ indoor mask mandate will be dropped at the end of the month, but not in schools. Governor JB Pritzker made the announcement on Wednesday, saying the state will drop face covering rules at indoor places, due to a rapid decline in Covid-related hospitalizations. That number has fallen by nearly 5-thousand statewide since January 12th. (and over 220 in the Lake and McHenry County area since January 15th)  The Governor said that schools will be the exception, despite a downstate Judge declaring his school mask mandate an overreach. An appeal of that decision is ongoing, and Pritzker said the earliest he would end that mandate (should it be upheld) would be sometime in the Spring. In the meantime, several schools including those in Gurnee and Mundelein continue to see both student and parent protests against the masking rule.

Tim Vander Tuuk, WLIP News (2-10-22)