Prairie State Wire

Tim Conrad is warning parents across Illinois they could be next after he was taken into custody on trespassing charges for not wearing a mask at a local school board meeting, in violation of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s universal mandate

“This is not an isolated incident as I have faced issues in many other instances,” Conrad, who claims he has a medical exemption for mask wearing, told the Prairie State Wire. “When the governor and IDPH have made their official recommendations or policy, it includes the specific language 'and able to medically tolerate' to accommodate the provisions of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 42 USC 121010 et seq. The problem lies in the local enforcement where their concern lies with blind compliance with the orders and not with lawful implementation.”

Co-founder of Restore Illinois, Conrad has long argued the governor’s restrictions are discriminatory against people opposed to universal mandates.  

“Do I, a healthy, unmasked person, cause a real threat to the public?" he asked. “The answer is absolutely no. I can't spread a disease I don't have. In the big picture, it is about my right to exist in public, like everyone else, despite my inability to wear recommended PPE. Like I said, ableism is a real problem."

Conrad is far from alone in voicing criticism to the ongoing policies, with Wirepoints President Ted Dabrowski arguing the governor has come to rule with an iron hand.

"It's always fear and confusion,” Dabrowski said in a Cities929.com interview shortly after Pritzker moved to impose his latest mandate, a universal mask mandate on public and private school students. “There's a lot of information that the public needs in order to start operating normally because we're a year and a half into this,” he said. “We've got to start getting back to some normalcy. And the way they present the data doesn't allow us to really understand or trust them. A lot of people don't trust what's coming out of the officials, you know, either at the CDC or at the local level."

The governor’s executive order also requires masks for teachers and staff at pre-kindergarten through 12th grade schools regardless of vaccination status, and state employees working in congregate facilities such as long-term care facilities and veterans' homes

In-person learning is slated to resume at school across the state over the next several weeks.