BENTON – State Rep. Dave Severin says he believes Governor Pritzker should drop his mask, quarantine, vaccine, and testing mandates for teachers and students immediately. Rep. Severin’s statement comes in the wake of Governor Pritzker announcing an end to mask mandates for indoor gatherings and public places starting Feb. 28, 2022.
“Our school children, teachers, and school officials have dealt with heavy handed COVID-19 mandates for far too long,” Severin said. “At the beginning of the 21-22 school year, House Republicans introduced HR 416 to call on the Governor, Illinois State Board of Education and Illinois Department of Public Health to reinstate local control and allow locally elected school boards to make decisions on COVID-19 mitigations that best fit their local communities.”
I have long advocated for local control and personal decision making taking precedence in these kinds of healthcare decisions. I am pleased that many school districts not involved in the lawsuit have already taken the step to remove mask requirements. The return of local control is a vital step forward to returning our schools to normal by restoring a healthy learning environment to finally address the learning deficit and staggering youth mental health crisis that the pandemic has caused across Illinois.”