The Appellate Court for the 4th District ruled just prior to midnight on February 17, 2022, on the appeal of the Temporary Restraining Order issued by Judge Grischow on February 4 in both the student and employment cases before the Sangamon County Circuit Court.
In short, the Court denied the appeal as moot, because the Joint Commission on Administrative Rules ("JCAR") did not extend the emergency rule implementing Executive Order 24 (which provided the Illinois Department of Public Health intended authority to implement rules to effectuate the order). The Court included this line: "We note the language of the TRO in no way restrains school districts from acting independently from the executive orders or the IDPH in creating provisions addressing COVID-19. Thus, it does not appear the school districts are temporarily restrained from acting by the court’s TRO." Austin v. Pritzker, 2022 IL App (4th) 220090-U, para. 13.
Because the state's authority remains restrained, and because the Court does not explicitly rule on a school's authority, schools that continue to enforce mask requirements and exclusion rules may be forced to defend such requirements themselves.
Attorneys at Miller, Tracy, Braun, Funk & Miller, Ltd. are available to discuss questions as may arise.
