Dozens of angry parents and residents turned out Tuesday to the Oak Lawn-Hometown Elementary District 123 Board meeting to protest the district’s continued enforcement of a mask mandate.
Several parents, many unmasked or wearing face coverings incorrectly, held signs with some variation of “unmask the kids,” while a man wore a sweatshirt that read Army, under which he’d written in black marker “of mom and dad.”
“Masking is about power and control,” said resident Mike Handley, who argued that neighboring states, Wisconsin, Indiana and Michigan don’t have mask mandates.
Handley’s comments echoed a common theme that masks were part of some larger conspiracy of government overreach and personal gain for state’s leadership.
“You still push vaccination clinics, and you still won’t make it mask optional,” Handley said. “There are only two options available, you’re either corrupt or cowardly.”
Residents were allowed four minutes of speaking time each, though collectively they spoke for about an hour, 30 minutes longer than the usual public comment time.
Among those in attendance was Rob Cruz, who was ousted from the Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board last month when board members, citing his suing the district and filing his own lawsuit claiming he spoke for the board, said he violated board policy.
Cruz said children aren’t resilient and cannot handle wearing a mask. He also said children are acting out and that there’s been an increase of school bomb threats, a claim District 229 officials have dismissed as being without evidence.
District 229, meanwhile, is continuing its mask mandate at Oak Lawn Community High School.
The District 123 meeting came days after Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow issued a temporary restraining order against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate. Several school districts and parents had sued the governor, arguing the mandates violate due process. Parents and some legal experts argue every school district could ignore the mandates due to the restraining order.
While nobody spoke in person to defend the mandates, some parents did submit emailed comments supporting the mask mandates. Board Preisent Brian Nichols read those into the record.
But the parents who did attend who publicly appeared united in their opposition.
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Public health data indicate mask mandates may work at keeping COVID-19 at bay.
According to the Mayo Clinic’s public data, Indiana and Wisconsin do have higher rates of COVID-19 positive tests than Illinois. On Feb. 7, the clinic’s website showed Illinois had a positive test rate of below 8%, whereas Wisconsin had a near 18% positive test rate and Indiana had a 28% positive test rate.
The level of support for mask mandates among parents or residents nationwide is unclear. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention support school mask mandates.
Several public polls reaching back over the past year have shown school mask mandates have support. This month, Chalkbeat, an education news website, published a roundup of national polling over the past year and reported no national poll with a majority of parents opposing the mandates.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.