145 school districts sued over COVID-19 policies

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — Parents from across the state are suing 145 school districts, the Illinois Department of Public Health, The Illinois State Board of Education, and Governor Pritzker over the mask mandate and excluding kids from school without due process.

This lawsuit started through a case in Bond County, Illinois, in which school districts were challenged for requiring all staff and students to wear masks. The Appellate court sent the back to trial court because the court believed the state needed to be a party in this case.

The decision resulted in this large, consolidated case in which 145 school districts are named and over 900,000 kids are impacted.

Attorney Thomas DeVore, with Silver Lake Law, Ltd., is representing the parents.

The lawsuit has two main claims.

“A child cannot be forced to wear a mask as a preventative measure to limit the spread of any infectious disease unless that done properly through the department of health, and the child’s parents are given an opportunity to object through procedural and substantial due process of law,” said. DeVore.

Second, a child can’t be excluded from school for an alleged close contact without the right to prove they aren’t a public health risk.

The lawsuit is seeking temporary orders for these two things.

DeVore has already won at least five cases in different counties where judges agreed.

“People say we are creating this danger and it’s not true. If these policies need to be something our state needs to have all the legislature has got to do is pass some laws,” says DeVore. “If they’re not going to change the law, the governor, even if he’s acting in good faith, can’t just craft executive orders that amount to law making just because he thinks he’s trying to do the right thing.”

Ball-Chatham, one of the schools named in the suit, issued a statement:

While the district has been advised of a pending complaint, we have not been served with a copy. At such time as the district is served, the claim will be referred to district counsel for review and response. Meanwhile, district 5 will continue to operate in strict compliance with all legal requirements relating to precautions against the spread of covid-19.

DeVore says school districts will be served next week.

A hearing to determine whether a temporary restraining order will be issued is scheduled on November 5th in Macoupin County.

No other parents can join to add their district to the lawsuit at this time.

Springfield’s District 186 is not named in the lawsuit.