Prairie State Wire

Government watchdog Wirepoints says a recently introduced bill shows that Democratic lawmakers don't believe Gov. J.B. Pritzker has the authority to enforce his school masking mandate.

“A lawmaker introduced a bill that would give the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) authority to punish schools not following Gov. Pritzker's COVID rules, which signals the governor and ISBE don’t yet have that authority,” the organization posted on its Twitter page.

The governor has placed nearly 60 schools on probation, meaning they are no longer recognized by ISBE, potentially threatening state funding for those schools. If they comply, the state can restore recognition.

State Rep. Edgar Gonzalez Jr. (D-Chicago) has filed a bill that would give ISBE the authority to “revoke the standing of a district for not following health rules during times of disaster declared by the governor.”

Veteran state Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) sees House Bill 4135 in much the same way Wirepoints does.

“I think this is an admission, at least upon Rep. Gonzalez, that the governor’s executive order doesn’t have the force of law when it comes to this particular thing,” he said. “If he’s introducing legislation to make it law, then the executive order doesn't have the force of law. Look, these decisions need to be made locally in my opinion.”

AWAKE Illinois founder Shannon Adcock agrees and is encouraging more parents to take a stand.

“The Illinois State Board of Education does not in fact have the power to revoke recognition status of schools [over COVID orders],” Adcock posted on Twitter. “So they’re trying to retroactively cover their tracks.”

Adcock points out the measure closely mirrors House Bill 2789, which passed the House back in April but by the time it had reached a Senate committee hearing, had nearly 17,000 witness slips signed opposing it.

HB 4135 has been referred to the House Rules Committee.