North Cook News

Parents at St. Viator High School are supporting moving back to pre-pandemic instruction amid a growing maskless student movement.

Around 70 children and a dozen parents came to school on Tuesday in support of ending COVID regulations after a downstate judge ruled they were unconstitutional.

“The ultimate hope is, school for the kids goes back to mask optional,” parent Chris Salatino told Chicago City Wire.

Salatino said the issue began to take shape quickly last week when parents began circulating a petition requesting the school go maskless.

The situation at the school quickly escalated with unmasked students being barred entry.

“They were met at the doors by security guards and the administration and weren't allowed entry into the school at that point,” Salatino said.

He said all students - including the unmasked - were eventually allowed into the school but when parents left they were rounded up and placed in the gym before being dismissed.

“At that point, they sat in the gym for a couple of hours before the school dismissed them with unexcused absences,” he said.

Illinois is one of a dozen states that have a school mask mandate. California is doing away with theirs next week and according to ABC News, Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey and Oregon have all announced plans to remove their mask mandates. 

In contrast, Gov. J.B. Pritzker has vowed to appeal the Sangamon County case that overturned his protocols.

Salatino said the state needs to make the change to going mask-optional.

“Illinois kind of stands out as a beacon across the country of one of the last adopters of moving forward," he said. “A lot of folks would like the state to move on –  (they) would like the Archdiocese of Chicago to move on.”

St. Viator is holding a board meeting to discuss the school's options.

Salatino noted the Archdiocese of Joliet and Rockford have started the process of ending the mask mandate.

“I think we'd all be best served to start to map out that path forward, and bring everybody back together,” Salatino said of ending Illinois' mask mandate.  

Salatino said he hopes the school can get back to being the center of the community.

“The situation has created a lot of real division in the community," he said. "Hopefully the school can act as a magnet to bring folks back together and respect each other and talk to each other again, as opposed to the high level of tension that exists today.”