A lawsuit has been filed in Macoupin County against 146 school districts as well as the Governor, Illinois Department of Public Health and Illinois State Board of Education for forcing students to wear masks when not quarantined or ill from COVID-19.
Three Marion County School Districts are among those named as defendants. They are the Odin, Patoka, and South Central School Districts. The list of schools are scattered throughout the state and include Chicago Public Schools and several in the suburbs of Chicago and Metro-East.
Greenville Attorney Thomas DeVore is seeking to make the lawsuit class action to cover all students in the 146 districts and not just those whose parents are bringing the lawsuits.
DeVore claims in the suit minor children who refused to wear a mask are being excluded from the premises of their school. He says that is being done without
obtaining consent of a parent or legal guardian or having obtained a lawful order of quarantine.
DeVore says all of the school districts have implemented and are illegally enforcing the exclusion directives issued by the Governor, IDPH and ISBE as part of their back to school plans.
The suit seeks a declaratory judgment against the state officials and school districts as well as injunctive relief against requiring the masks until the case is settled.
DeVore had won some temporary restraining orders before the Governor tightened the Emergency Health Measures requiring masks and the Appellate Court at Mt. Vernon ruled circuit judges had granted the restraining orders improperly since the Governor, IDPH and ISBE were not named as defendants in mandating the masks.
The first hearing date for the issuance of the temporary restraining order is set for November fifth.
