Bipartisan legislative panel rejects Pritzker’s attempt to reintroduce emergency mask mandate for schools

Gov. J.B. Pritzker listens during his news conference in the Blue Room at the Thompson Center last week. | Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file

SPRINGFIELD — Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mask mandate for schools hit another roadblock on Tuesday when a bipartisan legislative committee rejected the Illinois Department of Public Health’s attempt to reintroduce the governor’s emergency COVID-19 protocols for classrooms across the state.

The department’s emergency rules — which served as the state’s official guidance on masks, testing and exclusion for those exposed to the coronavirus in schools — expired on Sunday. The emergency rules re-filed on Monday became effective immediately.