Kane County Reporter

Republican state Sen. Don DeWitte is hoping the Illinois Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s appeal to a suit challenging his mask mandate in school’s will prove to be a learning experience for the administration.

“The Governor’s declaration of victory is indicative of his refusal to respect the actions of the two other co-equal branches of Illinois Government,” DeWitte said on his website. “The plain fact is that Gov. Pritizker lost his right to appeal. His spin-doctoring is just another attempt to save face on an issue where he was clearly acting outside of his authority.”

In rendering its decision, the state’s high court branded Pritzker’s appeal filing “moot,” while also vacating a restraining order issued by a lower court stipulating that a statewide mask requirement in schools could be reenacted at any time.

“Gov. Pritzker’s attempt to spin the rulings to his advantage is disingenuous at best, as he once again refuses to acknowledge the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) decision that suspended his continued overreach with these mandates,” DeWitte said. “Even the Supreme Court recognized the significance of the JCAR decision when they declared the TRO was no longer needed since the emergency rule was no longer in effect. Governor Pritzker has taken this case as far as it can go, and it’s time for him to acknowledge that he represents just one of three branches of state government that hold equal power.”

Following the court's ruling, the governor cited new guidelines put forth by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that recommends masks only in areas of high COVID-19 transmission as the rationale behind his decision to end school mandates.