Prairie State Wire

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery said Saturday that a Sangamon County judge's order allowing children to attend school maskless is a "threat to public health" and that it prevents "normalcy at school."

"We believe that what the judge ordered today is legally faulty and a threat to public health and, most importantly, a threat to keeping Illinois schools open for in-person learning," Montgomery said. "Our children and their families need certainty and some normalcy at school, not legal wrangling managed by a small minority of citizens."

In a 30 page ruling Friday night, Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow “deemed null and void” Pritzker's blanket state emergency school rules on masks and tests through the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules … This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain," she wrote.

Montgomery, 58, of Evanston, has been IFT president since Oct. 2010. He previously worked as a teacher at Niles North High School.

He is a staunch ally of Pritzker who lauded the governor after his budget address this week for having "steadfastly followed the science to protect our communities and move our state forward. We thank him for establishing mask and vaccine mandates that are helping keep our schools open and students and staff safe."

In August, Montgomery said he was "thankful" for Pritzker's statewide mask mandate. 

"We continue to be thankful for Governor Pritzker’s steady leadership throughout the pandemic," Montgomery said. "As school resumes soon in most Illinois districts, we welcome his updated mask mandate."

The Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) is the state's second largest teacher's union with 103,000 members, behind the Illinois Education Association (IEA). The Chicago Teachers' Union is an IFT member, representing approximately one-fourth of its membership.