The masks could soon be coming off in Illinois schools, finally, officially. While many schools have already begun removing mask regulations, and many students and staff have been refusing to wear them since covid numbers have plummeted in recent weeks, technically the mask mandate put in place by Gov. JB Pritzker has remained the rule statewide. However, that mandate took a huge hit yesterday when a bipartisan legislative committee rejected Illinois Department of Public Health’s attempt to reintroduce the governor’s emergency COVID-19 protocols for classrooms across the state. The department’s... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker announced today that he will be ending the state’s indoor mask mandate — but Illinois schools may still have a mask restriction in place. During a press conference, Gov. Pritzker said he will lift the mandate for the state, with certain exceptions, by Feb. 28. “My intention is as we’ve seen these numbers peak at about 7,400 hospitalizations, and heading downward significantly – we’re now I think under 2,500 hospitalizations, so that’s almost a third of where we were at the peak and heading even further downward –... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Thousands of students and parents statewide in Illinois are defying Gov. JB Pritzker’s order for mask mandates in schools upon the announcement of Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow granting a request from downstate attorney Tom DeVore to temporarily halt the governor’s executive orders on masking and quarantining for schools. Across social media, parents from schools throughout the state posted pictures and messages about their children not wearing masks anymore, and the parents posted celebratory messages calling for a permanent end to masks in schools and during... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: An Illinois judge’s ruling prohibiting mask mandates has got schools statewide in a tizzy over whether or not to continue to enforce Gov. JB Pritzker’s mask rules and other covid restrictions. On Friday, Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge Raylene Grischow granted a temporary restraining order effectively prohibiting mask requirements for students in numerous school districts across the state. A group of parents had filed lawsuits downstate against more than 140 school districts statewide, as well as Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education last year,... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois covid numbers continued their rapid zoom downwards, as officials said the statewide mask mandate and other restrictions could be gone “quite soon” — perhaps even within the next week or two — if cases and hospitalizations continue to plummet, Chicago Public Health Commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said in a press conference Tuesday. “We’re not going to keep the vaccination requirement just because we like it. We’re keeping it because the risk remains higher at this point,” Arwady said. “And yeah, I am feeling confident that it will be able... Read More

After a brief spike up late last week, Illinois covid numbers have plummeted down, as the state hit below the 10 percent positivity rate for the first time since Dec. 23, as officials signaled that an end to the statewide mask mandate could be coming soon. Illinois public health officials reported 6,664 new COVID cases and 28 related deaths Monday, a stark contrast to last week, when Illinois public health officials reported 15,732 new COVID cases and 143 related deaths Wednesday, and the positivity rate went to 14.6 percent. Numbers across the board swung mightily in a positive direction, as the... Read More

BREAKING: Illinois covid restrictions could be reduced or dropped within the next week or two if covid numbers continue to fall, Illinois Public Health Department director Dr. Ngozi Ezike told WQAD-TV8’s Jim Mertens in an interview this weekend. “As we pass the peak of Omicron and those numbers continue to fall,” Dr. Ngozi Ezike said, “As that number continues to go down, we will be at a level where we can think about taking off that mask because we can handle in our hospitals, the load of patients and everybody can get the care they need.” “We know that the... Read More

BREAKING NEWS: Well, perhaps we spoke too soon on covid being over. Illinois cases spiked back up today almost 60 percent over yesterday, a new worldwide variant — the stealth omicron — has been detected and is spreading, and deaths and hospitalizations increased statewide. The new numbers according to the Illinois Department of Public Health were not good. After declining cases over the past week, and a day in which we were below 10,000 cases for the first time in several months, Illinois public health officials reported 15,732 new COVID cases and 143 related deaths Wednesday. In addition,... Read More

UPDATED: With Illinois covid-19 infections, hospitalizations and average numbers dropping to new lows across the board, state residents are calling for an end to the statewide mask mandate and other restrictions, with some protesting and suing to end them — particularly in schools. The latest numbers from the Illinois Department of Public Health continue the trend over the past week of showing dipping cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, seeming to confirm what some officials have said, that the omicron surge has passed. “Over the last two years, I’ve said over and over that you don’t... Read More

As Illinois covid numbers plummet to new lows across the board, state residents are calling for an end to the statewide mask mandate and other restrictions, with some protesting and suing to end them — particularly in schools. The latest numbers from the Illinois Department of Public Health continue the trend over the past week of showing dipping cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, seeming to confirm what some officials have said, that the omicron surge has passed. There are 5,238 people are hospitalized with covid statewide, the lowest number since December 27, according to IDPH numbers... Read More