Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Chicago police union spar over vaccine mandate
Fox News correspondent Garrett Tenney provides the latest details on the mandate that stipulates officers who don't comply could possibly being taken off the job as early as tomorrow
The Chicago Police Department’s top cop has threatened to deny retirement benefits to those who choose to retire from the job rather than comply with the city's COVID-19 vaccination policy, according to local reports.
Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown said that those officers who do choose to retire rather than follow City Hall’s orders "may be denied retirement credentials," the Chicago Tribune reported, citing Brown’s Sunday memo.
A spokesperson for the police department would not comment or confirm the report to Fox News and referred further questions to the office of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The Lightfoot administration required that city workers report their COVID-19 vaccination status or be placed on unpaid leave, setting a deadline for this past Friday. Those who did not submit their vaccination status were told they would be placed on unpaid leave. Lightfoot said the no-pay status would not take effect until after the weekend because confirming compliance would take time.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Lightfoot said she was giving those who did not report their status "one last opportunity todo the right thing." But during that same appearance, she confirmed that police brass at CPD headquarters were questioning its personnel.
Since this morning, CPD starting at headquarters and then branching out to other divisions, has a list, making sure that they’re going to the individuals who are on that list. Talking to them and verifying whether or not they have actually signed up on the portal, and giving them the opportunity to be compliant and "in instances where they’re not, taking action from there."
In those instances "they are put into a no-pay status and then the disciplinary process will proceed from there," she said.
When asked, she said she would not consider a third option in which an officer would opt out of sharing his or her vaccination status but would pledge to get tested regularly as required.
Lightfoot said the number of folks actually declining "is very small" and said she was not seeing any indication "that there’s going to be any disruption in our ability to keep" the community safe.
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Speaking on Thursday she said her expectation was that "people who swore an oath to serve and protect the city are going to honor that oath and they’re going to show up, they’re going to report for duty, and they’re going to comply with a legal directive from the city and an order from the police department."
She added: "Anything less would be insubordination."
Chicago police officials made it clear on Thursday that officers who refused to comply with the city’s mandate risk being disciplined or fired.
First Deputy Police Superintendent Eric Carter said officers will be expected to meet Friday’s deadline unless they have an approved medical or religious exemption. Under the city’s rules, those who weren’t vaccinated by Friday would have to get tested twice a week on their own time and expense until the end of the year, when they will be required to be vaccinated.
But the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has been staunchly opposed to the mandate.
Last week, FOP President John Catanzara said that if officers were turned away, the city would have a police force "at 50% or less for this weekend coming up."
He also instructed officers to file for exemptions to receiving vaccines but to not enter that information into the city’s portal, telling the rank-and-file, "I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody, let alone that information about your medical history."
The FOP posted instructions on its website for what officers should do if given a direct order to report on the city portal their vaccination status. This time, it posted a letter that officers could sign and present to their superiors.
The document states: "Complying with this INVALID order and the violation of MY Bargaining, Constitutional and Civil Rights has furthermore caused me severe anxiety while challenging both my religious and moral beliefs. I am in fact complying with this because I am being forced to do so under complete duress and threats of termination."
Both sides have since taken legal action against each other.
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A judge has granted the city’s request for a temporary injunction barring Catanzara from making any public comments that encourage FOP members to disobey the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate until the next hearing on the city’s lawsuit on Oct. 25.
Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report, as well as The Associated Press.
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