North Cook News

St. Viator High School has gone mask-optional one day after parents and students together protested the Archdiocese of Chicago’s refusal to relieve students from mask usage.

Following a large protest on Tuesday the school went into remote learning Wednesday, and after one day announced it was going mask-optional beginning Thursday.

"As the Archdiocese of Chicago has provided direction that schools may adopt a mask-optional policy, Saint Viator High School will follow that directive when we return to in-person learning,” school officials said in an email announcing the change.

The school was quick to note that “this is not a return to pre-COVID operations” and “other mitigation protocols will remain in place including quarantine and contact-tracing policies.”

“We do still recommend masks so that our COVID cases remain low, and to be mindful of those students and staff that feel uncomfortable in this changing COVID environment, including those with health conditions that warrant the additional protection,” the school said.

The school warns that the mask mandate could be “reinstated at any time.”

"Please be advised that the legal process regarding the authority of the governor has not yet been completed, it is possible that the statewide mandate could be reinstated at any

time," school officials said. "If that occurs, Saint Viator will abide by the mandate and return to a mask-required status as soon as ordered,"

St. Viator is one of many schools across the Archdiocese where parents began sending students to school without masks regardless of whether the school was included in last last week's ruling on mask mandates.

Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow declared Gov. J.B. Pritzker's blanket state emergency school rules on masks and tests through the Illinois Department of Public Health "null and void." She said the governor and his agencies have been mandating rules upon students illegally.

“Statutory rights have attempted to be bypassed through the issuance of Executive Orders and Emergency Rules," she wrote. "This type of evil is exactly what the law was intended to constrain."

Twitter personality Emma Woodhouse noted the change via tweet. 

One Catholic organization told parents they should pull kids from Archdiocese schools, noting Illinois Catholic school officials were accused of breaching state law by forcing students to wear masks.




After the ruling, Chicago Catholic Schools Superintendent Greg Richmond indicated that allowing students to attend class without a mask is not a good idea as it "would create confusion and disruption in our schools."



Richmond later changed his mind for certain areas of the Archdiocese after parents of the 50,000-strong student population began a series of rolling protests across the region.

“In Lake County and most of suburban Cook County, masks will be optional beginning this Thursday, February 10 (excluding Oak Park and Evanston)," Richmond said. "We are waiting to implement this for a day in order to give our principals, teachers, and staff time to prepare."