Should Illinois Schools Reopen This Fall? Take Patch's Survey

ILLINOIS — All regions of Illinois were on track to move into phase 4 of the Restore Illinois plan on Friday, with coronavirus cases and deaths hitting the benchmarks required for reopening. That means the reopening of indoor dining at bars and restaurants, the reopening of gyms and plans for schools to reopen in the fall.

Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Illinois' confirmed coronavirus cases continued to drop, despite some day-over-day spikes in cases, and Illinois Department of Public Health Director Ngozi Ezike said the state had seen five consecutive weeks of declining coronavirus cases and deaths.

But in other parts of the country, especially places that reopened earlier, like Texas, Florida and Arizona, coronavirus cases and deaths are again on the rise — threatening to hit early "worst case scenario" predictions and overwhelm hospitals.

Florida Ends Second Straight Week Of Coronavirus Records

Illinois schools will reopen in the fall, state officials said, with mask requirements, social distancing rules and new sanitizing procedures.

While some Illinois parents are eager to get kids back in school, others are wary. Some parents are considering homeschooling their students in the fall, the Chicago Tribune reported, with one mom telling the newspaper, "I know teachers just don't have the capabilities to monitor every student to make sure that they are taking the precautions required."

The Great Mask Debate: How Illinois Residents Feel About Them

In an Illinois Patch survey, some readers — 34.1 percent — said they will send their kids back to school in the fall, masks or no masks, but another 33.6 percent said they would consider keeping them home if masks aren't required and 32.2 percent weren't sure.

How are you feeling about schools reopening in the fall? Take the survey below to share your thoughts.

The survey is not meant to be a scientific poll, with random sampling and margins of error, but is meant only to gauge the sentiments of our readers in an informal way. Results will be posted Tuesday.