CHICAGO (CBS) — Just four years ago, Illinois passed a mandatory indoor mask requirement at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of spring 2022, masks were still required on Chicago Transit Authority and other public transportation systems.
But now there is a growing movement of lawmakers and communities to ban masks, and civil rights advocates have grave concerns about the idea.
In surveillance videos of crimes being committed, the perpetrators often wear masks over their noses and mouths. In many cases, the coverings help to hide the faces and identities of those responsible.
“They’re not wearing those masks to protect themselves from COVID,” said Ald. Ray Lopez (15th). “They’re doing it for a very deliberate reason.”
For anyone caught committing a crime while wearing a mask, Lopez proposes a harsher penalty, on top of whatever punishment a judge might impose.
“I don’t want to ban the wearing of masks in Chicago,” Lopez said, “but I do want to specifically target those individuals who are intentionally trying to hide their identity while breaking the law.”
In northwestern suburb of Lake in the HillsFace coverings are not allowed at Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest unless for medical or health purposes. Organizers have chosen decorative masks, such as skeleton, ski or character masks.
This comes after fights broke out at a festival in Lake in the Hills earlier this spring.
Lake in the Hills police said in part: “[W]We cannot ignore that we are seeing a trend locally and nationally of individuals with malicious intent using face coverings to hide or disguise their identity.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois has expressed concerns.
“I think we’re concerned about the size and scope of many of these types of bans,” said Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for ACLU Illinois.
Masks have also been used to cover people’s faces during protests, including the pro-Palestinian protest camps at universities across the region and the country last spring, and other events, including most notably a protest that took place at 2:30 a.m. last Saturday. outside the home of U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois) in Highland Park and left many neighbors worried and tense.
Following concerns about people shielding their faces while committing anti-Semitic acts, New York Governor Kathy Hochul is considering a ban on face masks on public transportation.
“We are talking about people who use face coverings to hide their identity,” Hochul said.
According to Yohnka, similar bans could unlawfully infringe on people’s right to protest anonymously.
“What we’re seeing — I think this is largely a response to, you know, recent protests — is a sense that, you know, people shouldn’t be able to wear a mask in public for any reason,” Yohnka said. “We’ve never required anyone to identify themselves to speak. These laws suggest that people should be uncovered.”
