Skokie mask mandate due to COVID-19 begins Thursday
Skokie mask mandate due to COVID-19 begins Thursday
There's no statewide mask order, but some Illinois towns are making their own, requiring people to wear masks in public or stay home.
SKOKIE - There's no statewide mask order, but some Illinois towns are making their own, requiring people to wear masks in public or stay home.
On Thursday at 5 p.m., masks in public will no longer be voluntary in Skokie.
In an Emergency Mandate, the village will be requiring them as Skokie becomes the latest in a growing number of suburbs to implement similar rules to try to flatten the curve.
“I wouldn't be surprised to see other communities do exactly the same thing,” said Marda Le Beau.
Skokie resident and recent retiree Marda Le Beau has been wearing her mask in public for two weeks and agrees with the villages decision to make them a requirement.
“I think it's a good idea. The fact of the matter is right now it's pretty much voluntary and I would say if you go into stores, 50 percent of the people right now have masks on and 50 percent don't. And I would rather everyone was wearing a mask,” she said.
Essential business owners: this means you and your employees.
“Have your people wear masks. It's a directive. Part of the emergency declaration of the village of Skokie,” said Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen.
At midnight Thursday, similar rules go into effect in Cicero, whose mask mandate includes all town employees.
“All grocery store employees must be wearing masks at all times and anyone entering the grocery stores must have some type of face shield on also in order to enter the store,” said Cicero Fire Chief Dominick Buscemi.
In Cicero, if residents don't comply, they could eventually be ticketed and if essential businesses don't comply, they could lose their business license.
“We'd rather be over-reactive than trying to recoup what could been done before. We just want to be proactive in this,” Buscemi said.
Tickets won't be issued in Skokie. If you're outside in your yard, or in your neighborhood, masks are still voluntary.
At his daily briefing Wednesday afternoon, Governor JB Pritzker was asked if masks in public could become a statewide requirement. He said it is under consideration.