Mask-Off Rally Draws Large Crowd At LW Central HS

NEW LENOX, IL — A large crowd of parents, children and others who oppose Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's statewide mask mandate for schools and daycares showed up to make their opinion of the mandate clear: No masks for children.

An estimated 200 people lined U.S. Route 30 outside of Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox, most carrying signs that read, "Unmask Our Children," or some variation thereof, during the busy rush-hour traffic hour on the heavily traveled road. Many vehicles honked their horns, either in support of the rally or against it. Some motorists waved to the crowd with their whole hand, others waved with only a single digit, but the rally remained peaceful. One woman drove by and yelled from her window, "You're killing our kids," which elicited a chorus of boos from the crowd.

The event was widely shared on multiple Facebook groups in the days leading up to the rally. One of the event organizers, Frankie Pretzel, told Patch that the purpose of the rally was for parents to be able to meet and strategize about options for their children given the latest mask mandate, with many schools scheduled to begin classes in the coming weeks.

Though Pretzel, a New Lenox resident, sits on the Will County Board, he stressed that he helped to organize the rally as a parent and not as an elected official.

However, there was certainly a political feel to the event, with multiple signs directed straight at the governor in not-too-subtle terms.

Some of the people who were asked to comment would not reveal their names or simply refused to comment at all.

One couple who did speak with Patch, Nicole and Eric Queen of Frankfort, were at the rally with their two children — one in kindergarten and the other in fourth grade — and said they came out because they were "tired of co-parenting with the government."

"The mask mandate is just unlawful," Nicole Queen said. "Our kids just need to breathe at school, and they shouldn't have to suffer wearing masks for another year at school."

They added that they were not against the individual school boards, administrators or educators, or even masks; rather, the issue for them was individual choice.

"The biggest thing we're trying to do here is to get the masks to be the parents' choice," Eric Queen said. "We're not against masks. People have the right to do whatever they want with their kids. And, if they think the masks are a good thing, then they can put the masks on. That's fine. We're not against that. But we want to have the choice to say if we don't the masks, it should be our choice to say our kids don't have to put the masks on."

The Queens said they would send their children to school when classes resume, but the children would be maskless.

The Will County Health Department has reported 12,377 COVID cases as of July 30 among those ages 0-19. That number represents 15.7 percent of all cases in Will County.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported as of Monday 3,621,906 cases in those ages 0-17.

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