A judge refused to block COVID-19 rules for high school sports. | Stock photo
A judge refused to block COVID-19 rules for high school sports. | Stock photo
A Montgomery County circuit court judge has denied a recent challenge to the Illinois High School Association's COVID-19 guidelines on sports.
Thomas DeVore and Katya King, parents of Hillsboro Community School System students, sought a temporary injunction barring the Illinois High School Association and the school system from enforcing the guidelines.
The guidelines prohibit contact drills among athletes; require them to wear masks; and also limit indoor events to 50 people, including spectators.
“Unlike the right to a public education, which is clearly protected, Illinois courts, including our own appellate district, have repeatedly held that the right to participate in extracurricular activities, including interscholastic athletics, is not a property or liberty interest,” Judge Kevin Parker ruled.
The plaintiffs have 21 days to appeal the ruling.
DeVore is an attorney who has represented dozens of clients challenging Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s COVID-19 restrictions, a release issued on the Belleville News-Democrat said.
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