IDPH, State Board of Education sued over school mask, temperature, occupancy policy –

Clay Co., IL. (ECWd) –

James and Kali Mainer have filed a lawsuit naming Dr. Ngozi Ezike as Director of Illinois Department of Public Health, and Dr. Carmen I. Ayala, as Director of the Illinois State Board of Education, seeking a Declaration that the health regulations issued in the 63-page Directive on wearing face-coverings, temperature checks, and 50-person limit be declared unlawful.

There is also a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order seeking to restrain defendants IDPH and ISBE from implementing said Directives against Plaintiffs, which include: “Entry of a Temporary Restraining Order immediately enjoining Defendants from enforcing inside a school building their face-mask requirement, temperature check requirement, and limitation on groups of more than 50 people, against the Plaintiff’s minor children.”

The lawsuit alleges defendants have exceeded their authority in issuing these mandates, and that they are unlawful as well as arbitrary and capricious, and unreasonably applied to school buildings.

The Hearing on the TRO is scheduled for July 2, 2020, at 1:00 p.m. in the Clay County Courthouse.

Relief requested from the Verified Complaint:

• Declare the health regulation issued in the Directive requiring Plaintiff’s children to wear a face-covering inside a school building for the purpose of trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any other infectious disease is unlawful;
• Declare the health regulation issued in the Directive mandating Plaintiff’s children to submit to a temperature check before entering inside a school building for the purpose of trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any other infectious disease is unlawful;
• Declare the health regulation issued in the Directive mandating Plaintiff’s children to not congregate in a group of more than 50-persons inside a school building for the purpose of trying to prevent the spread of COVID-19 or any other infectious disease is unlawful;
• Declare the health regulation issued in the Directive mandating Plaintiff’s children to wear a face-covering inside a school building while at the same time not mandating face coverings inside a church building is arbitrary and capricious and hence unlawful;
• Declare the health regulation issued in the Directive mandating Plaintiff’s children to submit to a temperature check inside a school building while at the same time not mandating a temperature check inside a church building is arbitrary and capricious and hence unlawful;
• Declare the health regulation issued in the Directive mandating Plaintiff’s children not congregate in a group of more than 50-persons inside a school building while at the same time not mandating the same inside a church building is arbitrary and capricious and hence unlawful;
• An award of costs and other such relief as this Court deems to be equitable and just
• Find Plaintiffs have a right to insist any rule-making of the ISBE and IDPH be lawful and not arbitrary and capricious;
• Find Plaintiffs are irreparably harmed each and every moment their minor children are subjected to these rules within the Directive;
• Find and Plaintiffs have no adequate remedy at law to protect their minor children’s rights against these unlawful rules beyond injunctive relief.
• Find and determine Plaintiffs have a likelihood of success on the merits;
• Entering a permanent injunction ordering the Defendants from enforcing the aforementioned rules from this date forward;