Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience. – C. S. Lewis, God in the Dock
So, Illinois Attorney Tom DeVore finally got his legal theory ducks in a row and Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow dispensed with Governor Pointless’ pointless school mask mandate faster than a January 6 insurrectionist could dump their MAGA hat. The magic of his due process argument is it will not be overturned on appeal.
Think about it! How can one successfully argue that due process, the very basis of our Constitution, suddenly doesn’t apply in the plague era? Though I’m sure legal setback won’t stop the Governor from giving it another shot.
The first of two massive ironies is our morbidly obese Governor’s determined refusal to put the fork down puts him at a far greater COVID risk than going maskless in a mosh pit ever could. The second is that Judge Grischow’s ruling provided him with the perfect opportunity to wiggle off the nanny state petard he’s so willingly hoisted himself upon, but even in a election year he just can’t let it go.
The overly obvious expedient proclamation would’ve be3en, “The Court has ruled and the State of Illinois will abide by that ruling.” But no! Steadfast in his bullshit billionaire noblesse oblige “principle,” he pounded his fist on the dais while declaring there’d be a swift appeal of this heinous child-hating Judge’s dastardly ruling.
Though I’m kinda thinking someone told him what the word “unelectable” means because just a scant two days later the Governor suddenly switched gears by claiming, “I believe that we should remove masks as soon as we possibly can.”
Can you say “Too little, too late?” I knew you could!
The school district responses to the mask ruling have been varied, but they generally tend to fall along one of four lines. A plurality of the smarter school systems did the right thing by strongly recommending mask wearing but making it optional. Those Districts include, but aren’t limited to:
- St. Charles
- Geneva
- Crystal Lake
- Burbank
- Arlington Heights
- Barrington
- Wheaton
- Lake Forest
- Schaumberg
- Orland Park
- Plainfield
Ah! But then there’s the petulantly poor responses.
Districts like Kaneland, Batavia, and more than a few others irresponsibly argued that, since they weren’t specifically named in the lawsuit, they don’t have to abide by the ruling. Judge Grischow may have stopped short of granting her order class action status, she made it abundantly clear that attempting to apply the “not-mentioned-in-the-suit” argument would not be prudent.
Beyond the Judge’s caution, the legal remedy for that stupidity is somewhat simple. All an attorney or parent has to do is file a “Petition for Intervention” in Sangamon County asking the question, “Hey Judge! What about us?,” and she will include your district in the temporary restraining order in short order.
I can only imagine what kind of holy hell would break loose if Batavia high schoolers acted with the same level of immaturity as their administrators have in this regard. So much for setting a good example, right?
Then there’ U-46 Superintendent Tony Sanders uniquely ridiculous response.
To be fair, Judge Grischow did except district/teachers union collective bargaining agreements from the TRO, but she was referring CBAs like the one in Chicago Public School system. That contract covers specific COVID mitigations like mask wearing while U-46 is hanging their legal hat on overly broad CBA declaration like:
It is agreed that there shall be maintained such health, safety, and sanitary methods as are necessary to protect and preserve the welfare of the students and employees.
Who wouldn’t agree with that sentiment? But it hardly qualifies as the kind of legal disclaimer that would exempt a school district from what has essentially become State law. If we take Sander’s absurd argument out to its illogical conclusion, a district could insert CBA language that preempts all manner of Illinois State law, and we all know that ain’t the way it works.
Furthermore, by standing on what’s essentially a platitude, Sanders opens up the district to all manner of lawsuits regarding whether masks work, if they do more harm than good, and are children and teachers are really at risk in an abundantly safe classrooms.
This columnist once held out the highest hopes for Superintendent Sanders, but the plague era has consistently proven that he’s just not up to the task.
Then there are the districts that make Sander’s poor judgement pale in comparison. D303 and Naperville 203 and 204 have inexplicably concluded that, though their Districts were named in DeVore’s suit, Judge Grischow’s ruling only applies to the specific students listed in the original filing.
Right!
Considering how she clearly covered and dismissed that possibility in her ruling, this is exactly the kind of gameplaying that drives judges nuts, and it never ends well for a gameplayers. It’s a little more complicated than the aforementioned petition, but a parent or attorney in those districts can file a Motion for Contempt, again, in Sangamon County. Once filed, the Judge will come down on those nitwits faster than the Chinese government on a dissident tennis player.
The lawsuit against D300 is being drawn up by a Geneva law firm as we speak.
Because he harbors a propensity to make things worse, Indian Prairie Superintendent Adrian Talley actually the nerve to utter these incredibly imbecilic words:
The temporary restraining order will be appealed and may be stayed, meaning that the order could be placed on hold while the appeal is decided. As a result, the legal effect of the temporary restraining order is uncertain over the next couple of weeks.
What? You don’t have to follow the law because it might be overturned? I hope that’s not what Indian Prairie is teaching their students. Of course, that’s always a possibility! But unless and until the TRO is stayed or reversed on appeal, every Illinois school district MUST fully abide by it.
In the end, I find this consternation over cloth masks that don’t work, well-ventilated classrooms which don’t spread the disease, and children who have virtually no COVID risk, to be one of the strangest forms of group insanity I’ve ever witnessed. And it’s particularly bizarre when you consider that children go directly home from school to their unmasked families and friends in poorly ventilated homes.
All the administrators who insist upon clinging to this illegality are doing is inciting yet more lawsuits, protests, and other needless disruptions that makes it impossible to educate anyone. I thought it was “all about the kids.”
And if after all of this, if you still believe COVID mitigations are all about safety and not power, control, and dominance, then I have a Fox River bridge I’m willing to part with for next to nothing.
The fact that so many Illinoisans are making a final stand on a mask hill that doesn’t really exist is beyond baffling. Regardless of that folly, like Mr. Lewis said in his amazing quote, all of the fine folks who’ve stood fast and refused to let the nanny state advanced unchecked have something to celebrate this week – as well as my undying admiration.
And like it is with most of them, once this genie’s out of the bottle, there’s absolutely no way of putting him back in.
Author’s note:
As I finished editing this piece I realized that I made the petition and motion filing process sound a lot easier than it really is. I tend to forget that have had quite a bit of experience in that regard.
With the myriad of Net examples available, writing a motion itself isn’t very difficult. You simply follow this format:
- The case caption.
- The title of the motion, i.e. “Motion for Contempt of Court.”
- Who you are and why you have standing to file the motion.
- The legal precedent(s) that supports your motion – Judge Grischow’s ruling for example.
- The relief to which you believe you are entitled under the law.
- Sign your name and the perjury disclaimer.
Where this process truly bogs down is in the e-filing database systems which are beyond archaic and not the least bit intuitive. And all motions must be filed through those approved online systems because the Illinois legislature, in its inimitable wisdom, thought it would open the courts to everyone. But as is typical for the Illinois General Assembly, it’s only made it much worse.
I started to outline that process here, but even I couldn’t remember all the steps.
That means if you haven’t e-filed legal paperwork before, you really need to have access to an experienced soul who can guide you through the process. The last thing you want to have to endure is watching your carefully crafted motion be dismissed on a technicality.
