Masks Still Required On Chicago Transit Despite Overturned CDC Mandate

CHICAGO — Despite a ruling by a Florida judge that passengers aboard planes no longer must wear face coverings, Chicago and Illinois residents will still need to mask up when taking public transportation and while inside O’Hare and Midway airports, officials announced Monday.

Officials from the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra and the Department of Aviation announced that masks will still be required on trains, buses and inside airports despite Monday’s ruling. The judge ruled that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention overstepped its statutory authority when it extended the federal mask mandate until May 3.

The ruling freed up passengers traveling by air to go without masks, despite the fact that the CDC still recommends that air travelers keep their faces covered. The Transportation Security Administration announced Monday it would no longer enforce the mask requirement, which had been left up to flight attendants aboard planes to enforce.

However, the Florida ruling did not prevent local officials from requiring that passengers using the CTA and Metra continue to wear face coverings. The Department of Aviation also said that people moving about inside the city’s airports will need to continue to wear masks despite what TSA said Monday.

"We are not making any immediate changes to the mask requirement while we assess the situation," Metra officials said in a statement after the judge’s ruling.

CTA officials also said that they would keep the requirement in place and that they will notify customers when their policy changes. Passengers using the South Shore train line will no longer be required to mask up, as officials from that train line reversed course Monday evening after initially saying masks would still be required. Pace joined the CTA and Metra in keeping the mask mandate in place for their customers.

Amtrak has lifted its mask requirement, and Uber and Lyft also loosened their face-covering policy, which had been in place throughout the pandemic. The change came on a day when several airlines — including American, Delta, Southwest, JetBlue and United — all lifted the mask requirement for passengers and for employees.