Prairie State Wire

Attorney general candidate Tom DeVore touts his record of standing up for students and businesses against tyrannical mandates over the last two years. 

He reminded supporters in a tweet to never forget people who closed down their businesses and left some unemployed. These people, according to the image DeVore shared, are now asking Illinoisans to re-elect them and keep their jobs.

"I've fought to keep businesses open and people employed from unlawful mandates,” he said.   

DeVore shared the same image on Facebook.

"I posted this statement yesterday just to watch the people respond," DeVore stated. "Three thousand shares in less than a day seems like an important issue to me. I can only laugh at how out of touch these RINOS are. I hope you all send these people packing this year for the harm they caused to our families! Start with Pritzker and go right down the line!"

When Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted another round of COVID-19-related shutdowns in October of 2020, DeVore was quick to oppose them. He noted that Pritzker had been issuing arbitrary lockdowns since March of that year, but the standards kept changing. In March, it was "flatten the curve," but by September the reasoning morphed to mortality rates. DeVore also lambasted the governor and then-Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike for being too controlling. During the midst of the lockdowns, DeVore advocated on behalf of many restaurants in the state, Dupage Policy Journal reported.

DeVore won the GOP primary for Illinois attorney general mainly on the basis of opposing the COVID-19 policy in Illinois over the last two years. He successfully brought a lawsuit that overturned Pritzker’s mask mandate in schools, which boosted his popularity across the state. DeVore has already stood up to Pritzker, and he wants to ensure executive overreach like this never happens again, according to Prairie State Wire. He has also criticized the Evanston High School District for a mask mandate DeVore has said is illegal. DeVore is also a strong supporter of law enforcement, and he vows to defend the rule of law if elected.

Recently, DeVore accused Chicago Public Schools and several other districts of violating student rights by forcing students to mask situationally despite the court ruling that school mask mandates are illegal. He sued CPS on this issue, but he had a difficult time setting a hearing date due to the availability of judges in Sangamon County, where the mask cases were being heard. He said that several districts mostly in the Northern portion of the state were still defying the original court ruling. Devore said that only local health authorities can issue such orders under Illinois law, Chicago City Wire reported.