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'Like The First Day Of School For Them': Barrington High School Parent Happy About Students Going Maskless

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some suburbs throughout the Chicago area were sent scrambling after a downstate judge put a temporary restraining order on Gov. JB Pritzker's mask mandate.

CBS 2's Asal Rezai reports from northwest suburban Barrington with how this decision played out in schools there. So far, a lot of mixed reviews on Monday.

Some parents said their kids couldn't wait to be maskless at school, while others said their kids have been nervous and asked their parents to pick them up early.

It's the first time during the pandemic that wearing a mask has been optional for students in Barrington.

"It has caused quite a bit of disruption, quite a bit of high emotions from both sides and viewpoints."

Ann Field has two kids at Barrington High School. She thinks it's too soon to get rid of masks just yet.

"We were so close to get into, you know, hopefully a place where we can start taking the mass off. But the CDC or medical experts tell us this is not the time yet," Field said.

She is not only a parent, she's also a lawyer and has been keeping a close eye on the legal proceedings coming down in southern Illinois.

"There is a motion for a stay in place, there's an appeal. And it's a bit short sighted to make grand decisions that impact every student in every school district," Field said.

David Robbins also has two kids at Barrington High School. He said he's happy they're finally getting a choice.

"My kids are, like, super excited, because they've been wearing masks for over two years now," Robbins said. "So it's like the first day of school for them."

Robbins said he's seeing many states not mandating masks in schools and believes Illinois should follow suit.

"My children aren't worried at all about it, so I don't understand, I think mask-optional is the right path to go," Robbins said, who added that parents seems to be more worried about the mandate than the students are.

"I've heard today, like at the high school, that there's still 25% of kids still wearing masks, that's what my kids are telling me."

District officials are still recommending students and staff continue to wear masks until further guidance comes down from the CDC.

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