Carbondale Reporter

State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) believes an appellate court's denial of Gov. J.B. Pritzker's (D-IL) emergency rule regarding masks in schools was another victory against what he calls the governor's "quest for unending executive authority."

Windhorst took to social media to react to the three-judge panel's decision to dismiss an appeal of the temporary protection order blocking mask mandates in schools. 

"The dismissal of the Governor's appeal comes after Illinois House Republican members of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules led an effort earlier this week to block a new emergency rule from being implemented that would have reinstated Governor Pritzker's mask mandate in schools," Windhorst said in a Feb. 18 Facebook post. "As House Republicans have been saying all along, local school boards and parents have the right to make decisions that are best for their students. In light of his defeat by the legislative and judicial branches this week, I urge Governor Pritzker to abandon any plans he may have to appeal to the Supreme Court and save all Illinoisans the time, money, and angst that will certainly follow."

According to the Center Square, the trio of appellate judges, John Turner, Thomas Harris, and Lisa White saw no reason for allowing the emergency rule to proceed.

"Because the emergency rules voided by the TRO are no longer in effect, a controversy regarding the application of those rules no longer exists," the appeals court panel said in a ruling. "Thus, the matter is moot."

Earlier in the week Windhorst released a statement in response to Pritzker's attempt to counteract the temporary restraining order that blocked the school mandates by enacting an emergency rule. 

"This is one more decision that unravels Governor Pirtzker's seemingly never ending quest to rule the state without the input of the legislature," Windhorst said in a Feb. 15 statement. "I have been ... a strong advocate that students in our schools should not be subject to wearing a mask through the Executive Order of the Governor or by the edict of a group of unelected bureaucrats in Springfield and Chicago."

Windhorst said that he hoped it was the beginning to helping children "recover from the social-emotional and education roadblocks" brought on during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Following the judge's ruling, Pritzker asked Attorney General Kwame Raoul to have the state Supreme Court quickly review the case, according to WIFR.

WIFR reported that Pritzker sill encourages everyone to wear a mask in schools.