Category: Illinois

Judge Declares Illinois School Mask Mandate ‘Null and Void’

A judge has granted a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit that sought to end mask mandates in Illinois schools, effectively blocking the masking requirement and other mitigation measures, prompting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to declare it will appeal. Sangamon County Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow said in a Feb. 4 ruling that the defendants—Pritzker, the Illinois…


Illinois Judge Blocks School Mask Mandate; State to Appeal

An Illinois judge has granted a temporary restraining order in a lawsuit that sought to end mask mandates in schools districts statewide, effectively blocking the masking requirement and other mitigation measures, prompting Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office to declare that it will appeal the ruling. Sangamon County Judge Raylene DeWitte Grischow said in a Feb. 4…


Chicago Synagogue, Businesses Vandalized Over Weekend

CHICAGO—A synagogue and an affiliated Jewish school in Chicago were vandalized over the weekend with swastika images and antisemitic graffiti, officials said. The incidents occurred Sunday at the FREE Synagogue and Hanna Sacks Bais Yaakov High School. “We’ll get through it,” Rabbi Levi Notik told WFLD-TV. “I want to thank law enforcement, they did a…


8-Year-Old Girl Fatally Struck by Stray Bullet in Chicago Identified

By Tatyana Turner From Chicago Tribune CHICAGO—One minute 8-year-old Melissa Ortega was walking with her mother through their Little Village community Saturday afternoon. The next, gunshots rang out, and mother and daughter broke into a sprint, trying to run to safety in a nearby bank. But it was too late. One of those bullets had…


More Illinois Public Schools Defy Mask Mandate, Asserting Local Control

Three more Illinois public school districts have opted to make masking optional within their school areas in December 2021, according to the latest record published by Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE). Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker required universal masking at all schools through an executive order last fall. ISBE superintendent Carmen Ayala has said disobedient…


Family of Tornado Victim File Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Amazon Over Warehouse Collapse

The family of a delivery driver who died in December when a tornado hit an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, Illinois, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, their lawyers announced on Sunday. Austin McEwen, 26, a resident of Edwardsville and an independent contractor of Amazon, was working as a driver for an Amazon Delivery Service Partner when the tornado struck, leading…


Two 14-Year-Old Boys Killed in Separate Shootings in Chicago

CHICAGO—A 14-year-old boy was fatally shot on Chicago’s South Side just hours after another boy the same age was shot and killed on the city’s near West Side, police said Thursday. No arrests had been made in the shootings Wednesday, police said. The first shooting happened just before 4 p.m. Police said a boy, identified…


Illinois Teacher Takes Risks to Expose CRT at Public Schools

Frank McCormick, a high school history teacher in a Democratic-leaning Chicago suburb, has voiced his views about Critical Race Theory (CRT) at his school district for six months. The mental toll has worn him down. He realized that the loneliness, the personal attacks from all directions, and the constant fear of losing his job are…


Chicago Officials Reach Deal With Teachers’ Union to Return to Classrooms

Chicago officials and leaders of the city’s teachers’ union have reached a deal that will see teachers return to classrooms on Tuesday. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) hammered out a pact after nearly a week of negotiations. CTU members voted last week to stop teaching in-person. CPS rejected an attempt…


Illinois Adopts Biden’s Private Employer Vaccine Mandate

Illinois has adopted the Biden administration’s vaccine-or-test requirement for private employers, according to new rules announced by state authorities on Jan. 7, the same day the Supreme Court heard arguments challenging the federal mandate. The Illinois Department of Labor (DOL) said in an announcement that it had filed rules adopting the federal Occupational Health and Safety…