Dr. Theresa Chapple-McGruder. Chapple-McGruder, the director of the Oak Park Health Department | Oak Park Health Department
Dr. Theresa Chapple-McGruder. Chapple-McGruder, the director of the Oak Park Health Department | Oak Park Health Department
Oak Park Health Director Theresa Chapple rumored to no longer be with the Oak Park Health Department.
“FYI. I was told by Fenwick's new principal that she is no longer Oak Park health director,” Ron White said on Twitter.
The response was to a tweet noting Chapple’s “Equity Schools Policy Plan.”
“COVID policies are equity and inclusion policies," the “Equity Schools Policy Plan” reads in part. "Reducing COVID cases reduces COVID hospitalizations, deaths, and missed work and paychecks that disproportionately affect people who are Black, Hispanic, Native American, low-income, and at high risk of severe COVID. Keeping schools healthy and open supports equitable and inclusive learning environments for all children, families, teachers, and staff."
Chapple had been a hold out amongst health directors across the country advocating vaccination for toddlers and for the enforcement of mandatory masking this fall.
In late July she called the police on an oak park man who refused to wear a mask in an Oak Park Health Department meeting held at a public library.
Police who arrived on the scene refused to enforce Chapple’s mask mandate.
“After a few more minutes of being scoffed at and ridiculed, they realized the police were NOT going to remove us, so they were either going to cancel the meeting or start with us there, unmasked. Some people left, they just couldn’t handle us unmasked people,” the attendee said.
Late last year Chapple was allegedly the focus on an investigation on which she and Oak Park have refused to discuss publicly.
Chapple is a well-known advocate for Black Lives Matter, a movement with Marxist roots.
In 2020, BLM was responsible for the demonstrations that devolved into looting and wrecked the central business districts of cities around the country.
Chapple and other proponents of "equity" contend that racism against white, Asian, and Hispanic people is to blame for the pathologies in black neighborhoods, such as the high rate of crime, the rise in single-parent households, and the poor academic performance of black students.
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