Prairie State Wire

State senator and candidate for governor Darren Bailey (R-Louisville) argues the verdict is already in when it comes to the class-action lawsuit filed earlier this month by 88 teachers and school staff across the state in opposition to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 school mandates on vaccination, testing and masks.

“It’s not about a vaccine, it’s about freedom,” Bailey tweeted. “The mandate candidate is acting like a tyrant & overstepping his power. These decisions should be between you & your doctor, and the government is not your doctor. Keep standing for freedom.”

With 22 different school districts, the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Illinois State Board of Education and the governor named as defendants, the suit seeks an emergency injunction blocking Pritzker’s health requirements for school personnel. Filed in Sangamon County Circuit Court, the filing also argues the vaccination and testing program violates the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act.

“The educators object to the vaccination and testing of the coronavirus as both health care services violate their moral conscience,” the lawsuit states. “Should the educators object to these proposed health care services, the law prohibits the defendants from discriminating against them.”

Springfield District 186 teacher Kadence Koen is among the plaintiffs after having made national headlines earlier this year when she initially refused to show proof of vaccination and test results for weeks in her home district.

“My stand all the way along has been anti-mandate,” Koen told WMAY. “I am against the idea of one man being able to tell an entire population what they have to do as far as their medical decisions.”

Fellow District 186 teacher Kimberly Smoot is also a plaintiff, arguing while she adheres to regular weekly testing she’s troubled by the thought of conceding personal liberties in the name of public safety.

“First we must test, then you take away the option to test and make us get the vaccine,” she added. “Next, that’s not enough and we must get a booster according to your schedule. When we give up our rights, even if it’s little by little, we will never get them back.”

Back in early November, Pritzker signed an amendment to Illinois’ decades-old Health Care Right of Conscience Act allowing employers to discipline employees for refusing to comply with COVID-19 rules. With the changes slated to go into effect on June 1, 2022, the amendment was intended to narrow the law and deny it as a legal argument to groups such as the 88 teachers.

With the bill triggering opposition by more than 86,000 Illinoisans, the governor justified his actions by insisting “the legislative intent of the Health Care Right of Conscience Act so that it cannot be abused or misinterpreted to jeopardize workplace safety.”

The suit was formally filed by attorney Thomas DeVore, who has challenged Pritzker’s orders around the state. It seeks judgments against requiring vaccines, masks, testing or exclusion policies without orders of quarantine.

Koen, who teaches business and math at Southeast High, isn’t the only Illinois teacher who has defied the vaccine mandate, with the DuPage Policy Journal previously reporting that Indian Prairie teacher Karly Olsen stepped down weeks after posting an anti-vax, anti-mask mandate video explaining why she was leaving.

In addition, St. Charles elementary school teacher Nicole Cournaya was fired after more than 20-years on the job after he refused to comply with the mandate. He has since filed suit against the state.