Dupage Policy Journal

The DuPage County GOP opposes Gov. J.B. Pritzker's mask mandate for all public and private schools and requiring vaccinations for state employees who work at congregate settings, such as veterans' homes or long-term care facilities.

“While Pritzker orders families abide by his overreaching diktats & force kids at little to no risk to mask, many in med community say opposite... ‘futile to impose vaccine mandates’, ‘people who had covid & recovered should not get this vaccine’, ‘eliminate mask mandate for kids’”, the organization Tweeted on Aug. 5.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends universal masking in schools, as does the American Academy of Pediatrics, but Daily Herald reported Pritzker as saying "far too few school districts" adhered to guidelines.

"My goal has always been to safely bring all kids back into the classroom and, crucially, keep them there," Pritzker said, according to the Daily Herald. "Without these measures, we will likely see many more outbreaks. As governor, it's my duty to take immediate and urgent action to slow the spread of the delta variant of COVID-19. People are dying that don't have to die.”

The Prairie State is experiencing a bump in COVID-19 deaths, with public health officials reporting a 64% increase.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that 64 deaths were confirmed the first week of this month compared to 39 fatalities in the final week of July.

Last month, Illinois reported its first day without a single COVID-19 fatality in more than a month.

Pritzker’s mask order doesn’t apply to people being outdoors, ABC7 reported.

The Illinois Federation of Teachers said in a statement obtained by WCIA that it “continues to be thankful for Governor Pritzker’s steady leadership throughout the pandemic.”

“As school resumes soon in most Illinois districts, we welcome his updated mask mandate,” the statement said. “With the large number of unvaccinated individuals and the rapid spread of the highly infectious Delta variant in Illinois, requiring masks in all schools is a prudent course of action.”