Hancock College Prep Responds to Possibility of Mask Mandate Being Lifted in Chicago Public Schools
March 4, 2022
By Lizette Salto, a Hancock journalism student
Hearing the Governor’s decision on lifting the mask mandate in Illinois, Pedro Martinez, Chicago Public Schools CEO, reaffirmed his commitment towards keeping the masks mandatory in all CPS schools. Martinez had made it clear that he’s totally aware of the mask optional law but still chose to keep masks mandatory for all students and staff members. Yet, a few days after Governor Pritzker’s announcement on lifting the mask mandate, Martinez announced that CPS is on the verge of dropping the mask mandate “in the near future.” Martinez and the chief education officer both wrote in an email, “While we will continue to strongly encourage the use of masks in schools, we expect that CPS will be moving to a mask optional model for all students and staff in the near future. We understand that this will be a major adjustment for our school communities, and we are committed to providing you with all the support you need during this transition,” according to the Sun-Times.
Tom DeVore is an attorney who is running for a general attorney spot in Greenville, Illinois. On February 28, DeVore filed a temporary restraining order which argues that parents who filed a lawsuit against the Illinois Department of Public Health and the governor are suffering continuously. DeVore continued on by saying, “Each is being subjected to wearing a mask as a type of quarantine without being provided their rights of due process,” which was mentioned in an article by the Chicago Tribune. As of now, the Illinois Supreme Court has declined to hear the case but DeVore will take on the case on March 10th hearing to Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow.
CTU has also had a say in this mask mandate issue. Specifically, CTU mentioned in a Chicago Tribune article that the teachers union has commented on Tom DeVore’s actions saying that he is “someone trying to leverage the safety and well-being of our school communities for his own political gain.” CTU also continued on saying that masks play a huge role in keeping many students and staff members in schools communities safe.
On the week of February 28th, The Signature, the school newspaper, conducted a survey that asked students, teachers, staff members, and parents how they felt about the mask mandate being lifted here in Illinois.
As of Friday afternoon, 222 students, 3 parents, and 35 staff members responded:
Recently, in these past couple of weeks the governor has announced that all Illinois residents are not required to wear masks nor show proof of vaccination when entering indoor locations starting Monday, February 28th. How much do you AGREE or DISAGREE with the governor's decision?
Lifting the mask mandate gave many Illinois schools the opportunity to make masks optional. CPS chose to keep making masks mandatory for all students and staff. Do you agree that schools should make masks optional for ALL students and staff members?
How will you feel about going out now that the mask-mandate has been lifted in Illinois?
A previous version indicated that 35 parents responded. We corrected the mistake to indicate that 35 staff members responded.