Will Illinois Kids & Teens Be Required to Take the Covid Vax for School?

Under Pritzker, the chance of "yes" would be high.

The Center for Disease Corruption (CDC) stupidly decided this week to add the covid-19 vaccine to the recommended schedule for childhood vaccination. While the agency has zero authority over whether states require it as a condition of school attendance, those of us in Blue States know all too well from the past 2+ years that where the CDC “guides,” our Governors tend to follow - irrespective of legality, necessity, or common sense.

So far, Dem Governors haven’t said much. Gavin Newsom promised last year to make it a requirement. Through a spokesperson, Colorado’s Jared Polis said he supports the state health department’s “current stance” on not requiring the shot for school kids. Current. 🤔

What about Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker? Predictably, he avoided all questions on Thursday and didn’t hold a presser Friday. His challenger Darren Bailey was unequivocal, saying his administration would oppose vaccine mandates in all levels of school and places of employment.

Darren Bailey for Governor @DarrenBaileyIL

As Governor, my administration will oppose mandating COVID vaccines for grade school, college and employment. We all know the mandate candidate, J.B. Pritzker, will force it on your kids because he thinks the government knows better than parents. #twill

It’s hard to deny Bailey’s claim that Pritzker would push it, given the number of times the Governor has assumed authority over children’s bodies during the pandemic. Also hard to deny that even parents who wouldn’t draw the line at mandatory masks (the psychological training wheels for mandatory vaccines), weekly testing, or illegal exposure quarantines are prepared to fight to the death over anyone forcing a jab on their kids.

So, what would need to happen in Illinois to make the covid vax a requirement for Illinois public & private PK-12 school attendance?

Far as I can tell from the Communicable Disease Prevention Act and associated rules/regulations, it would take either

A) an actual law (remember those?), passed by the Illinois General Assembly, as with the meningitis vaccine in 2013,

or

B) a rule-making process involving the Department of Public Health, subject to approval by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).

Because there’s a Democratic supermajority in the ILGA, and method B) involves more steps, plus a legislative committee comprised of five Democrats and five Republicans, method B) is preferable to method A). The process, described in 410 ILCS 315/2, goes like this:

1. State Immunization Advisory Committee¹ recommends the vaccine be added.

2. State Board of Health conducts three public hearings, geographically distributed throughout the state.

3. State Board of Health issues a report to the DPH Director, with its recommendation to add/not add the vaccine to school requirements.

4. DPH decides whether to prescribe associated rules & regulations.

5. JCAR reviews and subjects the proposed rules to public comment. This can take anywhere from 90 days to a year.

It’s easy to imagine DPH bulldozing through, ignoring all feedback from the public and medical processionals, just like we saw with the CDC this week. But at least these steps give time for sensible parents to get involved and get loud.

What about Pritzker’s infamous tactic of issuing an emergency order that allows emergency rules? JCAR can object to those too. Their track record under the Pandemic Regime was dismal - especially when it came to kids & schools - but a recent no vote on proposed IDPH rules under the auspices of “emergency” was voted down last week, with one committee member, Republican Steve Reick, stating flatly, “The pandemic is over.”

Still, if Prtizker’s at the helm, there’s every reason to fear he’ll push for a law, rather than for agency rulemaking under the Communicable Disease Prevention Act. Or he might try one strategy if the other fails, like he’s done before. Despite thousands of witness slips and much opposition, last year’s covid amendment to the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act passed². That’s how J.B. rolls - guided by the voice of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka, singing, “Don’t. Care. How. I want it NOW!”

NOW is a good time for Illinois parents to wake up to what four more years of Pritzker will be like. As Justin Hart notes, there’s nothing like the threat of forced infection on kids to quickly heal the ideological divide between liberal & conservative families.

Justin Hart @justin_hart

Nothing heals the ideological divide between liberal & conservative families as quickly as when a unelected bureaucrat threatens to force an injection on all your children. #TeamReality #RationalGround

Truth is, Pritzker is stuck. He can’t escape the myriad ways his administration already mandated and coerced vaccination & boosting of kids and teens. Do we honestly think he will pivot toward bodily autonomy, unless he’s defending abortion? He might tread lightly before November 8th, but don’t be fooled.

The man’s policies have repeatedly demonstrated he’s anti-child and anti-parent. Let’s not give him a chance to keep showing us what he stands for.

We already know, and he’s gotta go.

In my next post, I’ll explain the main reasons mandating the covid vax for Illinois school attendance would be foolish and wrong. I suspect we have a lot of legislators on both sides of the aisle who are undereducated on this issue.

1. Members as of December 2021 listed here.

2. In the event a law is passed, requiring the covid-19 vaccine for school attendance, religious and medical exemptions would still be permitted. The amended HRCA doesn’t change that for school-required vaccines.