Illinois judge hears arguments in school COVID-19 mitigation lawsuits

After two more days of hearings, a Sangamon County judge has not yet ruled in either of two combined lawsuits over requirements involving COVID vaccines, tests, masks and quarantines in Illinois schools.

Right now, the hearings are about whether to grant temporary restraining orders to school employees and students against their school districts and state administrators, and to certify the class for a class action lawsuit.

Judge Raylene Grischow took the requests from school staff and students’ families under advisement at the end of the hearings on Wednesday and Thursday this week. She also heard two days of arguments earlier this month.

Bond County Attorney Thomas DeVore is representing most of the plaintiffs in both the school employees’ case regarding the mandate to either be vaccinated or get tested and the students’ case regarding masking in schools and quarantines for children who have been cited as a close contact but don’t have any symptoms themselves.

Twenty-two districts and state officials are being sued over the vaccine or test mandates and more than 140 are being sued over the mask and quarantine rules.

Attorneys have until Jan. 27 to file orders before Grischow makes her ruling.