Community News
Gillespie School Board rescinds student masking mandate – for now
Meeting in special session Monday night, members of the Community Unit School District 7 Board of Education voted unanimously Monday night to rescind its long-standing policy requiring students and staff to wear face coverings on campus.
The action comes just days after Sangamon County Circuit Judge Raylene Grischow signed a 29-page temporary restraining order on Friday negating the authority of Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health to impose an emergency executive order requiring masking in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic for more than 30 days. The current executive order to require masks has been in effect for about 22 months.
The lawsuit originally was filed in Macoupin County Circuit Court by Greenville attorney Thomas DeVore on behalf of parents from more than 145 school districts throughout Illinois. Macoupin County school districts included as defendants are Carlinville, North Mac, Southwestern and Staunton.
The decision also runs counter to Supt. Shane Owsley’s recommendation to keep the local school district’s masking mandate in place pending the outcome of an appeal filed by the Pritzker administration on Monday. Owsley said a decision is expected for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals by Feb. 17 and could come as early as Feb. 11. At this juncture, the Appellate Court could uphold Judge Grishchow’s restraining order, overturn her order or issue a stay, which essentially would delay enforcement of her order until the Appellate Court makes a final determination.
The language of the motion approved Monday night calls for rescinding CUSD 7’s mask mandate pending the Appellate Court either issuing a stay or reaching a decision overturning the lower court.
Judge Grischow’s decision on Friday forced school districts statewide into a weekend frenzy to interpret the ruling and ponder how to deal with it on Monday.
“I spent six or seven hours on the phone with attorneys,” Owsley said, “and it really comes down to who you talk to.” Owsley talked to outside attorneys and attorneys retained by the school district. Answering a question from board member Becky Hatlee, he said even the district’s own attorneys were mixed in their opinion of how the district should proceed. “My fear is that if we vote to go mask optional tonight and the temporary restraining order is overturned, then we’re going to have to go back and tell parents that wearing a mask is no longer optional. Once the toothpaste is out of the tube, it’s really hard to get it back in.”
Owsley also worried that if the Appellate Court upholds the state government’s executive order to require masking and the school continues to allow an optional masking policy, it could raise serious tort immunity issues for the school district. Under tort immunity, the district is obligated to avoid putting students or staff members in harm’s way. If the Appellate Court upholds the executive order, the district could then become liable for COVID-related disabilities or deaths among students or staff if it chooses to continue an optional masking policy.
Teacher’s union president Michelle Smith said she polled union members via email at the request of Supt. Owsley and Board President Mark Hayes. Two-thirds of the 84 respondents said they had no objection to a mask optional policy if the school board decided to end the district’s mandatory masking policy. The remaining one-third preferred to continue mandatory masking.
Apart from those preferences, Smith said some teachers had specific questions about procedures.
“Our understanding was that we were supposed to let students not wear a mask on Monday if they so chose,” Smith said. Some teachers apparently worried about whether or not they could be held personally liable under those circumstances for illnesses among students in their classrooms. Smith said some elementary students arrived Monday morning without masks but asked for masks to be provided, prompting some teachers to worry whether or not they were violating parental preferences by giving the child a mask.
From her email survey, Smith said some teachers had questions about whether or not the district would return to remote learning if COVID cases increase dramatically, noting that the universal preference of district teachers is for in-person instruction. A handful of teachers with underlying health concerns asked about their options if the school were to adopt an optional masking policy.
“If there was a vote tonight to go maskless, what would the union response be?” asked board member Weye Schmidt. “If we vote to go mask optional tonight, are we going to hear from the union tomorrow?”
“No, as long as other mitigations are in place, we will follow the directive of the board and board policy,” Smith said. A change in the policy would not require renegotiation of the teacher’s contract but teachers want assurances that other procedural mitigations, such as frequent and thorough classroom cleaning, will continue.
Building principals reported that most students arrived Monday morning with masks but as the day progressed, many of them removed their masks.
“Three students arrived without a mask,” said High School Principal Jill Rosentreter. “They were offered masks and they politely said, ‘No, thank you.’ By fifth period, which is the period right after lunch, I’d said 50 percent of our students were not wearing masks.”
Middle School Principal Tara Cooper nearly 100 percent of sixth-grade students arrived with masks but by the end of the day nearly half of them had taken their masks off. Seventh-grade students, for the most part, wore masks during the day but among eighth-graders only about 10 percent of students continued to wear masks at the end of the day. “By the end of the day, our kids were pretty well unmasked,” she said.
Angela Turcol, Ben-Gil Elementary Teacher, said elementary students started the day wearing masks and continued to do so through most of the day. Some parents, however, contacted the school to ask the district to remove masks from their children.
All three principals agreed that the numbers they reported on Monday would probably be the norm if the board voted for an optional mask policy.
“I’d say students will be about 50/50,” Rosentreter commented, adding that the majority of staff members would be likely to continue wearing a mask.
“I fully understand there are people on both sides of this issue,” Owsley commented. “Whatever the board decides, I will do as I am directed. I just want to make sure I have given you all the options.”
Monday night’s meeting was moved to the middle school gymnasium, presumably in anticipation of a large crowd. Ultimately only 30 or so persons attended, including a contingent of unmasked parents who sat at the rear of the room. There were a few tense moments when Jamie Trumpy, a parent, engaged with the board moments before the board voted to rescind the district’s current mandatory masking policy.
Trumpy insisted the local district was required to end mandatory masking because of Friday’s court order.
Owsley pointed out CUSD 7 was not a defendant in the lawsuit, though page 25 of Judge Grischow’s order declares Pritzger’s executive order “null and void,” which would imply it is universally applicable.
“It’s been proven in court that the governor cannot issue an emergency order for more than 30 days,” Trumpy said, as he recorded video of the meeting on his cell phone. “As of Friday, it’s not legal for you to require masks. You guys are violating a court order.”
Schmidt asked if unmasked students would be removed from the classroom if the mask mandate were allowed to stand.
Trumpy responded that the district could not remove unmasked students, alleging it would violate the students’ due process rights under the 14th amendment. “The 14th amendment says they have a right to an education,” he asserted. He said the court ruled that masking amounts to a form of quarantine and that students cannot be quarantined without a court order.
“It does us no good to walk out the door tonight without making a decision,” Schmidt said, suggesting the district seemed to be leaning toward simply not enforcing the mask mandate while leaving the policy on the books. That course, he said, could put the district at more legal risk than going on record to make optional masking a policy. As an example, he said the district would be sued if it had an unenforced policy to provide crossing guards and a student was hit by a car at an unguarded crossing.
Schmidt moved to rescind the mask mandate and make masking optional until such time that the Appellate Court rules otherwise.
“The masks don’t work,” Trumpy declared. “If they work so well, the people who are still wearing them will be protected.”
President Hayes advised Trumpy that he failed to take advantage of a public comment period earlier in the meeting. Trumpy responded that he didn’t know what questions would be coming up.
“You’re hired by us,” Trumpy said. “You have to work for the people. At this point, you’re not. You’re wrapped up with the union. You’re not working for the students.”
Hayes asked for an officer to remove Trumpy from the room.
“You really want to do that!” Trumpy responded. “You want to remove me from a public meeting.” While an officer did come forward to observe, Trumpy remained in his seat and continued to comment on the proceedings.
Responding to Trumpy’s assessment of mask efficacy, board member Jack Burns said cloth masks like the one he was wearing were not intended to protect the individual but were thought to be effective in preventing germ transmission to others around him. N95 and KN95 masks like the one worn by board member Dennis Tiburzi, however, could be effective in protecting the wearer, Burns said.
“Absolutely, Mr. Burns,” Trumpy said. “The federal government has given you billions of dollars to buy masks like that. I’d like to know why that hasn’t been done. How much money did you get?”
Owsley said he could get an exact figure for Trumpy after the meeting and noted the district bought “thousands” of paper masks to supply students.
One mother among the spectators said her child was harassed for not wearing a mask. She said the child was told he or she could not ask a question because they were not masked. Owsley and Hayes both said bullying of unmasked students would not be tolerated. Owsley asked the mother to meet with him after the meeting.
Schmidt’s motion lingered several minutes without a second. Eventually, Hayes offered a second to bring the issue to a vote. During a roll call vote, all members voted “yes,” with several pondering a few seconds before casting their vote.
“No one knows whether the Appellate Court will overturn this,” Alepra commented. “If it’s overturned, does everyone realize the mask will go back on?”
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Dana Carr Skinner, 52, of Gillespie has announced her candidacy for Macoupin County Circuit Clerk. She will be on the November 5, 2024, General Election ballot.
Dana, a lifelong Macoupin County resident was born and raised in Wilsonville by her
parents, Barb and Van Baker. She graduated Gillespie High School in 1990 and attended SIUE
before starting her family. She has raised eight children all of whom graduated college or attended trade school. Dana is married to Todd Skinner.
Dana is currently a public servant, serving the people of Illinois as a paralegal. She has
over 25 years legal experience with 15 of those years being directly in the courtroom. She has
worked in law firms that practiced in all areas of the law from probate, family, civil, traffic,
criminal and real estate. After working several years in the legal field, Dana went back to college and obtained a paralegal degree.
Dana is running for Circuit Clerk because, “It is time for me give back to my community
and the residents of Macoupin County. Lee Byots Ross has done an amazing job as our current Circuit Clerk and I want to continue the work that she has accomplished. My adult life has been focused on my family and my children, and they are now grown. My focus now, would be to demonstrate to the residents of Macoupin County that I can and will do an excellent job as
Circuit Clerk,” Dana said.
The Circuit Clerk is responsible for establishing, maintaining and keeping all records of
the court, as well as several administrative, financial and public services.
“There are employees in the office now that have worked there a number of years, and I will be committed to them and their opinions, as well as the people the Macoupin County. I will learn from the current employees if I am elected in November and I believe that I have the experience, the knowledge and the work ethic that would make me an asset to the Circuit Clerks Office’s team,” Dana said.
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United Mineworkers of America President Cecil Roberts will commemorate the 125th anniversary of Union Miners’ Cemetery in Mt. Olive on October 13. Ceremonies begin at noon with a short historical parade, Roberts, IL AFL-CIO President Tim Drea, and frequent labor music.
Afterward, a meal will be provided as the labor music continues. The event is free and open to the public. A portable chair is recommended.
The cemetery is located on near 5536 Mt. Olive Road in Mt. Olive and can be found by following North Lake Street.
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Background of Union Miners Cemetery by the Mother Jones Museum:
The Union Miners Cemetery is in Mt. Olive, a small mining-town that was once the center of a rebellious group of miners who helped to secure Illinois as the solid rock for the United Mine Workers Union. Today thousands of visitors come each year to pay their respects to the memory to Mother Jones and the spirit that guided her and the founders of the labor movement in the United States. They reflect about the connections between the past and the present.
The cemetery was established in 1899, when commemorations of the miners killed in the 1898 “Virden riot” became controversial in the Mt. Olive cemetery where they were originally buried.
The bodies of the Virden “martyrs” were re-interred in a cemetery established as the Union Miners Cemetery by the Mt. Olive United Mine Workers local. Commemorations of these events in the following years contributed to a generation of activism in the Illinois coal fields.
They did this by claiming the kind of memorial space that was denied in other places, such as Haymarket, where police often disrupted commemorations. This built a sense of connection between past and present in the area, and made it clear that ordinary workers had changed the course of history. The role of the ordinary worker came into focus. Mt. Olive was one of the few places in the country where labor history was taught before the 1970s.
This is a unique place in the history of the labor movement; it was the only union-owned cemetery in the country. This is a place with a monument to Mother Jones, but it also evokes the power and potential of the labor movement. It is a place of reflection and remembering, of thinking of the labor movement’s roots. It is a shrine not only to Jones but to the sacrifices that connected human rights and labor rights, a place where people wonder when and why labor lost power.
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When I decided to write this article, my original intent was to find out when they removed the rails down the middle of Macoupin Street, but I thought I might research when the railroads came and went in Gillespie. So here is a brief history!
In the 1850’s, railroads were becoming more important to the US for both transportation of people and goods. Chicago was the hub of railroad traffic in the west and cities throughout Illinois were vying to have railroads come through their section of the state. Having a railroad meant prosperity and growth. Towns would grow with increased population. The key question was where are the railroads going to go? Influence by key political people throughout the state was important.
Prominent people in the US and central Illinois like Judge Joseph Gillespie, William Mattoon, Electus B Litchfield and Robert Rantoul (Massachusetts senator) and others help bring the railroad south.
The move south was brought about by the chartering of the Terre-Haute & Alton Railroad in January 1851 out of Mattoon, Illinois. It was to extend south to Alton because legislators wanted Alton to compete with St. Louis in the growth of the area. The work was started in 1852 to originally go 172 miles. It was completed in March 1856. Extensions were created from Alton to Belleville and eventually to St. Louis. By 1857 the route was completed and a railroad went through Gillespie. The St. Louis connection was helped by the building of the Eads Bridge in 1874.
In June 1867, the Terre-Haute Alton Railroad was leased to the Indianapolis & St Louis Railroad but went into foreclosure in 1882 and sold to the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (known as the Big Four). This railroad came under control of Vanderbilt and the NY Central Railroad system.
The Terre-Haute Alton Railroad/Big Four Railroad came to Gillespie on an east west route. It passed through Gillespie today in the land next to the Civic Center, crossing Macoupin Street next to Subway. The Big Four Terminal was just off Macoupin Street where the Civic Center is located. There were additional terminals in Hornsby and Dorchester.
A 2nd railroad will add additional prosperity to Gillespie. The Illinois Traction System was a brainchild of William B. McKinley (not the president). He had a vision to create an electric railroad empire that covered at its peak 550 miles of rail.
The Traction system started in connecting Danville and Champaign in 1901-02, then to Decatur to Springfield in 1904. He also completed the route from Springfield to Granite City going through Gillespie and Benld in 1904. This Interurban as most people called it was a passenger service. It would eventually connect to Peoria by 1907 and St Louis by 1910. It was also possible to go to Chicago by connecting with other railroads. The Illinois Traction Terminal was on the corner of Macoupin and Spruce Streets where United Community Bank is located and at one time did have a small spur to the east.
Everyone associates the growth of Gillespie-Benld and the surrounding area to the coal mines, but the railroad also played a key part in the growth of the area.
You might wonder why main street is so wide compared to other towns’ business districts? Gillespie was unique by having the Interurban rail down the center of Macoupin Street but also the Big Four crisscrossed near Walnut Street. The town has to be one of the few towns in Illinois to have that unique situation.
In the early days, the crisscross intersection was controlled by only railroad signs. The “Stop, Look and Listen” slogan did not stop accidents at the crossing. Eventually, a crossing watchman was hired to control the car and pedestrian traffic at the intersection of the two railroad lines. It was also not unusual for a parked car to back into the Interurban in the business district.
These two railroads went north-south and east-west throughout town until the Interurban ceased to operate. The last Interurban use was on March 3, 1956. The rail line was eventually taken over by other railroads and would only be used for freight transportation, especially by Norfolk Western and other railroad lines. The rail line did have a brief arrangement to transport coal from Monterrey Coal Junction to Edwardsville in 1970, but the last use of the old Interurban Line for freight use occurred on August 20, 1970.
The eventual decline of the railroads in Gillespie coincides with the decline of the coal mines. Railroads were being transformed from coal to diesel and coal use immediately declined.
The Big Four stopped operating on December 17, 1964. Slowly they started to remove the tracks between Litchfield and Bethalto. Illinois maps show Big Four railroad tracks in 1965, but they are gone by 1967.
Now to the original premise of the article, when were the railroad tracks removed down the middle of Macoupin Street? My sources throughout town were varying, I got all kinds of guesses. I narrowed it down by my own memory. It was there in 1972 when I started teaching but then all of a sudden it was gone. I searched newspapers in the fall of 1972, then 1973 and I found it in 1974.
In January of 1974, the city decided to do something about the water lines in the business district. There was a conversation in late February to remove the tracks, but when will they do it? At the same time there was discussion about the sewer lines where the tracks are located. So, the city decided to it all at the same time, remove the tracks, and do water and sewer lines. By early April 1974, the tracks are gone and by early May, the downtown was a mess because of the water main project. After the downtown removal of tracks, the city eventually moved further north and south on Macoupin to remove the remaining tracks.
So, what proved to be a simple search gave you, the readers, a history of the railroads in Gillespie. Stop by the library and see the assorted railroad pictures and if you have anything railroad-related or an interesting picture involving the railroad such as an accident involving the railroads. I would like to see them.
