School Megacase Hearing Scheduled Friday in Macoupin County Has Been Canceled

The hearing involving some 145 school districts in Illinois, scheduled in Macoupin County Friday, has been canceled.

The hearing has been called off due to an agreed order dissolving a preliminary injunction. The North Mac School District and their superintendent were the subject of a temporary restraining order in September. The TRO was sought to stop the district and the superintendent Dr. Jay Goble from attempting to enforce a notice to quarantine. The TRO was in place until the matter of the preliminary injunction could be decided. 

In the meantime, other lawsuits were filed in a number of counties, arguing against school districts having the authority to direct their students to mask up. One of those was filed in Effingham County on behalf of some Teutopolis school district students.

That lawsuit was later withdrawn and the Teutopolis case joined the Macoupin County matter. Eventually, 145 school districts in the state had similar cases join the Macoupin County matter.

However, there have been separate efforts to include the governor, IDPH Director Dr. Ngozi Ezike, and other officials in the Macoupin County matter. Separately, there have been efforts to have the matter transferred out of Macoupin County to either Sangamon County, the seat of state government, or to Cook County, which has the largest number of public school students of any Illinois county.

Again, though, the hearing that had been scheduled Friday in Macoupin County has been canceled since an agreement has been reached to dissolve the temporary injunction originally filed in September.

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