Effingham Co. IL. (ECWd) –
The Chief Judge of the Fourth Circuit, Judge Douglas L. Jarman, issued a Temporary Restraining Order, for 30 days, this morning against the Teutopolis Unit 50 School District as it pertains to mask mandates.
Paragraph A, from the Order:
“While the Children are on school property, the Defendants, are enjoined from requiring any or all of the Children to utilize any type of device, including a mask, for the purposes of allegedly preventing the spread of an infectious disease unless an order of quarantine has issues against any or all of the Children from the local health department as required by the Illinois State Board of Education.”
The Judge properly applied the legal definition of “modified quarantine” found in the Illinois Administrative Code.
“Quarantine, Modified” – A selective, partial limitation of freedom of movement or actions of a person or group of persons who are or may have been exposed to a contagious disease or possibly contagious disease. Modified quarantine is designed to meet particular situations and includes, but is not limited to, the exclusion of children from school, the prohibition or restriction from engaging in a particular occupation or using public or mass transportation, or requirements for the use of devices or procedures intended to limit disease transmission. Any travel within Illinois outside of the jurisdiction of the local health authority must be either approved by the Director or be under mutual agreement of the health authority of the jurisdiction and the public health official who will assume responsibility. Travel outside Illinois shall require written notice from the Illinois jurisdiction to the out-of-state jurisdiction that will assume responsibility.
It was argued successfully by Tom DeVore that a mask is a device intended, allegedly, to limit disease transmission. That being the case, the authority to place such a device on a person is limited to the power give within the laws established for quarantine through the local health departments.
The judge issued the TRO based on the following:
- The children have rights
- Masking constitutes quarantine
- A mask mandate creates irreparable harm
- The Plaintiff would likely succeed on the merits
The TRO was issued for 30 days and the next hearing is scheduled for October 14th, 2021 at 1 pm in the Effingham Courthouse.
We confirmed with Mr. DeVore, the next step that will soon be hitting the courts will be the use of the same exact legal definition as it relates to vaccines, “a procedure intended to limit disease transmission.”  As many are starting to realize, the vaccine may limit the severity of illness, however, those who are vaccinated can still transmit the disease. We believe those mandates will fail once challenged properly in court on the most basic application of the definitions found in the Illinois Administrative Code for the Control of Communicable Diseases.
A copy of the order can be downloaded at this link or viewed below.
The Complaint which lead to this TRO can be read (HERE).
Mr. DeVore provided a brief interview after the hearing which can be viewed below.
TRO
14 Comments
Elizabeth Gruber
Posted at 07:21h, 28 SeptemberMy body my choice. Oh wait does that only apply to abortions? Masks are useless against a virus and stop giving up your rights to a bunch of elitist unelected people who probably couldn’t get a job outside of government. .
MM
Posted at 00:35h, 21 SeptemberThis case is clearly wrong. Just reading the article exposes the flaws in the analysis. Quarantine is a limitation of freedom of movement or action of a person or persons who are or may have been exposed to a contagious disease. The mask mandate applies to everyone BEFORE they are or have been exposed to a contagious disease. The fact that students are required to wear a mask BEFORE possible exposure makes it NOT a quarantine. The sentence that includes “devices” to limit transmission is modified by the first sentence (i.e., it lists things that are quarantines AFTER a person is or may have been exposed to a contagious disease). To read the definition any other way would mean that suspending a child for fighting would be a quarantine because the child is excluded from school.
PK
Posted at 10:25h, 26 SeptemberThe state has developed a negative construct using PCR testing reports (cases) and illness reports (hospitalizations and deaths) in order to often say a lot about exposure, masks, and vaccines. In Illinois, purportedly due to the unavoidable risk of exposure (as evidenced by the administrations continued use of PCR test reports, hospitalizations, and deaths) there’s another indoor mask mandate to contend with. Naively, masks are sure to knock out mononucleosis in high schools ISBE recognizes.
Because the TRO is properly adjudicated, you may wish to carefully examine your dislikes.
Jim
Posted at 16:22h, 15 SeptemberI think we should follow the letter of the law, We have laws on the books that we have paid legislators to put in place. That is the reason we have a legislative branch of government. I absolutely refuse to give in to political pressure. If the vaccines are so important then why hasn’t a bill been introduced to the legislators? This political vigilantism is nuts to say the least.
Dennis Finegan
Posted at 15:49h, 15 SeptemberI hope everyone is happy with their children getting sick, parents getting sick, and maybe grandma dying. The judge hasn’t been following CDC guidelines if he buys into Mr. DeVore’s weak arguments. The masks do work.
I expect most if not all of the usual suspects here – and you know who you are – are fully vaccinated and wear a mask per whatever mandate is in place. This isn’t about freedom, it is about saving lives. Yes, they should do it the PC way, but to put children in harm’s way is not a good way to make your case.
PK
Posted at 20:01h, 15 SeptemberThis is a fairly straightforward case, finding, and order. What part of Illinois law, as cited by the court, not in the plaintiff’s argument per se, escaped your understanding?
Rick Spung
Posted at 13:20h, 16 SeptemberLOL at Dennis Finegan. You really think masks work? What else do you believe in? Santa Claus? The Easter Bunny?
Trapping a virus in a mask is the same as trapping a mosquito in a chain link fence.
Michael D Jackson
Posted at 20:33h, 16 SeptemberWell said Mr. Sprung.
Frank Miller
Posted at 15:44h, 15 SeptemberIt’s unfortunate that lawsuits are the only remaining course of action. I have tried for 18 months to reason with my local officials in Dekalb County with no luck. We have seen about 4 deaths attributed to the coronavirus in the last 6 months, with a population of about 100K. So common sense and open debate is clearly not going to change anything. Any word from Devore at the State level?
PK
Posted at 00:48h, 16 SeptemberI’ll second that.
When I checked the MR case(s) records on the Sangamon County Circuit Clerk’s web-site last, there’s a substitution of council filed in the Foxfire et. al case; and an agreed order filed in the ECWd’s case.
Frank Miller
Posted at 13:28h, 16 SeptemberOk, thanks for your direction. I notice the Texas supreme court ended the mask mandate a few weeks ago, after some businesses and schools were ignoring the governor’s ‘order’. Maybe Illinois will follow.
Jack Tarleton
Posted at 14:37h, 15 SeptemberOf course, that restraining order is binding only on the T-town school district and their superintendent. It has no effect on the State Board of Education or the IHSA, neither of whom were defendants.
Freedumb
Posted at 13:49h, 15 SeptemberFine. No masks. I don’t want to hear any bitching when they kids have to go back to remote learning.
jannie
Posted at 13:34h, 15 SeptemberSounds like the judge wants to cut back on the population or maybe increasing the odds of kids getting Covid and have later health problems. Probably has some investment in health care or drug companies. Of course all these court cases are costing really you the taxpayer money and who makes those big bucks, the lawyer.