While nearly all other court systems in Illinois have lifted mask mandates, people visiting Cook County courthouses will still be required to mask up, for the foreseeable future.
On March 1, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans announced he was refusing to lift his orders requiring everyone working in and using Cook County court facilities to wear masks, in the name of reducing the spread of COVID-19.
Last week, the Illinois Supreme Court announced it was lifting its mandate requiring masks in all Illinois state and county courthouses, effective this week. The lifting of the statewide mandate coincided with the decision by Gov. JB Pritzker to lift his statewide indoor mask mandate in most public settings.
However, the high court said it would still allow the state’s various judicial circuits to decide for themselves whether to require masks within their courthouses and other court facilities.
While court systems statewide moved to also lift mask mandates, Judge Evans said Cook County would not take that step.
He said the mandate would remain in effect following the guidance of the Cook County Department of Public Health and the CCDPH’s senior medical officer, Rachel Rubin.
“She (Rubin) informed my staff that our local community transmission rate remains substantial, and strongly recommends we continue our mask mandate until levels reach moderate or low,” Judge Evans said in a prepared statement.
He said the courts would only revisit the decision if public health officials drop their recommendation that people continue to wear masks in public indoor settings, or if “local transmission rates reach safer levels.”
The judge’s statement announcing the continuing mask mandate did not further discuss the data on transmission levels presented by the CCDPH to back its claims of dangerous levels of “local community transmission” of COVID-19.