Kane County Reporter

Republican state Sen. Don DeWitte (R-St. Charles) is calling on the state’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) to take a stand against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s masking mandates.

“JCAR has oversight responsibilities,” DeWitte posted on Facebook. “It is our job to protect the public from arbitrary agency enforcement of guidance and policy.”

Thus far, 47 school districts, including Durand Community Unit School District 322, have been placed on probation over not adhering to the universal masking mandate the governor imposed just before schools were slated to reopen for in-person learning.

Of that number, nearly half have already reversed course and have indicated they plan to impose a mandatory mask mandate, including Durand CUSD 322. Those still on the list are facing threats of being cut off from state funding, which for districts like Durand account for nearly one-fifth of total funding.  

Pritzker’s school mandate also extends to teachers and staffers, and since then he has flexed his executive order muscle to impose a general indoor mask mandate that includes those as young as 2 years old.

The mandates come as several studies have taken issue with the overall effectiveness of face coverings and school closures.

A report by the Center for Biosecurity Disease, titled “Mitigation Measures in the Control of Pandemic Influenza,” concludes “the ordinary surgical mask does little to prevent inhalation of small droplets of influenza virus (because) the pores in the mask become blocked by moisture from breathing, and the airstream simply diverts around the mask.”

And at the University of Illinois-Chicago, researchers found that "cloth masks and face coverings are likely to have limited impact on lowering COVID-19 transmission because they have minimal ability to prevent the emission of small particles ... and offer limited personal protection with respect to small particle inhalation."