Kane County Reporter

39 states don't have this mandate Americans in 39 states aren’t subjected to a mask mandate. Why are Illinoisans? 

Maskless Majority

Illinois is out of step with a majority of the nation when it comes to masking. It’s just one of 11 states with a statewide mask mandate covering either all residents or just the unvaccinated. Thirty-nine states have no statewide mandate at all.

Gov. Pritzker has never presented any of the “science and data” that justifies his executive authority to impose some of the strictest mask mandates in the country. He should either show the data, in black and white, or he should drop the mandate like a vast majority of his fellow governors have done.

It’s not just the Southern states that don't have mandates. None of the states in the entire Midwest, with the exception of Illinois, have one either. Even most of the Atlantic and Northeast states are mandate-less. The only real exception nationally is on the Pacific coast.

Recent Omicron data will make Gov. Pritzker’s justification for mask mandates even more difficult. Masks – as well as the vaccine passports put in place in Chicago and Cook County in early January – are making no difference in spread when compared to Illinois’ neighbors. In fact, Illinois is faring worse. Since Omicron’s appearance in December, Illinois’ case count has jumped more quickly than its neighbors’.

 As of January 15, Illinois’ 7-day average of new cases stood at 234 per 100,000, the 2nd-highest count behind Wisconsin. Cases in mask-less Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky and Missouri have accelerated far more slowly and are still anywhere between 12 to 27 percent lower than in Illinois.

Illinois’ poor relative performance is happening despite it having the highest vaccination rate, 65.1 percent, among its neighbors.

 Which brings us back to the other states. Pritzker constantly claims he’s following the “science and data” when implementing his COVID mitigation policies.

 If that’s the case, what exactly does he think the governors of 39 other states are doing?

All Illinoisans should know that few other states subject their residents to a mask mandate. Share this piece with others and like Wirepoints on Facebook to spread the word.

Wirepoints has been busy the past two weeks. If you haven't seen them yet, take a look at our separate commentaries on Chicago education and the CTU that appeared in the Chicago Tribune and the Wall Street Journal.

 And while you're here, check out the latest episode of Wirepoints' podcast. Mark and Ted speak with political analyst and Chicago-area native Steve Cortes about the recent dramatic shift to the right by Latino voters across the country. 

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