September 17, 2020 – Governor Pritzker is remaining firm in his stance on high school contact sports this fall being put on hold. Yesterday, Pritzker spoke on the issue. “One of the reasons Illinois has the lowest positivity rates among all of our neighboring states is because we have been very careful,” the governor said at a news conference in Chicago. The IHSA recently reached out and sent a letter to the governor asking for the IHSA and Sports Medicine Advisory Committee to regain control over determining when high school sports and activities resume.
A statement on the purpose of the letter to the governor was available on the IHSA website. “Several surrounding states have successfully conducted sports categorized as medium and high risk here in Illinois, and we believe sports and activities are safest when conducted under the IHSA safety protocols by school personnel,” the statement said. “Those combined factors led us to issue this letter, and we will respectfully await response to it.”
High school football players, coaches and parents have held rallies around the state to convince politicians and school officials to allow football season to resume this fall.
