Illinois House Republicans Demand Temperature Checks For All Lawmakers After Being Asked To Leave Chamber For Not Wearing Masks
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) -- COVID-19 mask rules set off political theatre in Springfield Wednesday.
A group of Republican members of the Illinois House of Representatives was asked to leave when they refused to wear masks. They in turn demanded temperature checks for all House members.
Temperature checks were then given, and all members passed.
Illinois Republicans said the incident is indicative of confusion over rules statewide.
This came a day after a group of state lawmakers has blocked Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker from reinstating his mask mandate in schools after it expired over the weekend.
The Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR), a bipartisan oversight panel in charge of reviewing rules created by state agencies, voted 9-0 to reject the Illinois Department of Public Health's effort to ensure school districts that aren't defendants in an ongoing lawsuit over the school mask mandate continue to enforce mask requirements and other COVID-19 restrictions.
Three Democrats on the committee joined six Republicans in voting down the rules, with two other Democrats voting present, and one other Democrat absent from the meeting.
But Pritzker says his mandate still applies to some.
"The executive order requiring masks is still in place," Pritzker said. "School districts that aren't part of the lawsuit should follow the executive order."