Judge gives Chicago police union victory, temporarily blocks COVID vaccine mandate for police officers



Chicago police officers received a temporary victory Monday when a Cook County judge ruled officers did not have to comply with Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city workers.

However, the city also received a victory because the judge said officers would still be required to submit their vaccination status to an online portal for city workers.

What are the details?

Cook County Judge Raymond Mitchell temporarily blocked Lightfoot's deadline that all Chicago police officers be vaccinated by Dec. 31.

Mitchell issued the stay to allow the Fraternal Order of Police and city attorneys to arbitrate grievances.

"The City's counsel suggested at oral argument that it might be possible to arbitrate the grievances before December 31, 2021, but that is a matter for the parties to resolve among themselves," Mitchell wrote in his order. "So, the only remedy left to protect the unions' right to meaningful arbitration is to stay in compliance with the December 31 vaccination requirement until such time as the arbitration is complete."

Mitchell explained that Chicago's "public health objective and the police union's desire to pursue their grievances are not wholly irreconcilable."

In fact, Mitchell seemed to agree with the union's stance, which has been to balk at city mandates and pursue legal remedies. "'Obey now, grieve later' is not possible. If every union member complied and was vaccinated by December 31," Mitchell explained, "they would have no grievance to pursue and there would be no remedy an arbitrator could award. An award of back pay or reinstatement cannot undo a vaccine. Nothing can."

However, officers who do not comply with the city's requirement to report their vaccination status or submit to routine testing can still be placed on unpaid leave, Mitchell said. He called the requirement "a minimal intrusion" because "police officers already are obligated to provide medical information to their employer."

Importantly, Mitchell's ruling only applies to the Chicago police union, and not other city employees.

What was the reaction?

Both Lightfoot and the police union declared victory.

"If you look at what's happening in court cases all across the country, whether it's fire and police or others that are challenging these mandates, I'm not aware of a single instance in which a mandate put in place has been invalidated," Lightfoot said, WLS-TV reported.

The mayor also bashed FOP president John Catanzara.

"I think some people were waiting and they were told by FOP in particular, 'we'll win in court,'" Lightfoot said. "Well, as I said, I think John Catanzara, is what, 0 for 8? So at some point people have to recognize this guy doesn't know what he's talking about. He's leading them down the wrong path."

Catanzara, however, struck a more peaceful note.

"Thankfully, Judge Mitchell heard our argument that we've been saying all along," he said. "This fight was about collective bargaining rights and the obligation for the city to go to the bargaining table and to arbitration."

Anything else?

According to WLS, 35 Chicago police officers have been placed on unpaid leave for not complying with the vaccination status reporting requirement.

If the labor union and Chicago city attorneys cannot reach an agreement by Dec. 31, the vaccination requirement will continue to remain inapplicable to Chicago police officers until an agreement is reached.

Chicago police union boss slams defund-the-police cuts as city faces 'historic levels' of homicide



The president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police spoke out against the mayor's decision to cut more than 600 police jobs after several people were killed over Christmas weekend as violent crime continues to ravage the city.

At least eight people were killed and 30 more were wounded in citywide shootings over the extended holiday weekend, the Chicago Sun-Times reported Monday. Three people were shot and killed on Christmas Day.

"We're over 700 homicides by gun in Chicago this year and close to 800 total homicides for the year," Chicago FOP President John Catanzara told Fox News Tuesday. "It's reaching historic levels, and this when the city council and the mayor's budget just cut over 600 jobs from the police department's budget when crime is soaring. It's ridiculous."

"Literally, just two days ago, we had a kid who just turned 13-years-old go into the store to get batteries for a Christmas toy at 9 am in one of the peacefullest parts of the city, who was gunned down," he continued.

In October, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced cuts to the police department's budget in response to demands from Black Lives Matter activists to defund the police and reduce the department's $1.6 billion budget.

Lightfoot announced that the city would eliminate 618 police jobs, even as disgruntled police officers are leaving the job or retiring, creating staffing issues for the department. In her remarks on the budget cuts, Lightfoot said that police departments have played a "complicit role" in "brutally enforcing racist, Jim Crow laws, depriving Black and Brown people" of their "full rights as citizens."

"These are not just ancient times, but recent history, right here in Chicago. And so, in breaking down these barriers, we must also continue to closely scrutinize all policing practices and policies to eliminate any and all bias," she added.

Catanzara accused the mayor and other city officials of giving in to violent Antifa rioters who have "hijacked" efforts by peaceful protesters to call for police reform.

"We had many examples this summer in Chicago where peaceful protests were hijacked by anarchists," Catanzara said. "Specifically, everybody's seen the video footage from the Columbus statue assault where 52 of our officers were injured in that assault by violent anarchists. They have absolutely hijacked the movement and the narrative."

"If the goal is to have a lawless, non-police society, mission accomplished," he added. "Because the politicians in this city and state are actually falling for it."

Police union in Democrat-controlled Chicago endorses Trump's reelection



The Fraternal Order of Police chapter in Democrat-controlled Chicago has endorsed President Trump's reelection bid in a move that may serve to boost the president's law-and-order campaign theme.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the union's board of directors convened last Wednesday and voted unanimously to support the president's reelection.

The union's endorsement came only days after its national umbrella organization, the Fraternal Order of Police, also voted to endorse Trump's campaign. The Fraternal Order of Police is the nation's largest police union, representing more than 355,000 members.

Why does it matter?

While the Tribune noted that the move was largely expected, the fact that it came from an organization in heavily Democratic Chicago is notable. At the very least, it highlights a growing intolerance for the rampant violence and destruction that has resulted from civil unrest and Black Lives Matter protests in several cities across the country.

Chicago, for one, has been plagued by an historic rise in violence this year amid protests and coronavirus-related shutdowns. The city's Democratic mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has been harshly criticized by police for not doing enough to stop the violence and the rioting.

In August, news broke that Lightfoot — while supporting protesters publicly — had banned protests on her street and had been routinely stationing over 100 cops outside her home to enforce the ban.

Situations such as this reportedly caused a rift between the city's police and the mayor and caused some "quiet grumbling" within the department.

What else?

John Catanzara, the Chicago chapter's president, reportedly told the Tribune that the endorsement largely reflects the views of its membership before adding there will be some who disagree.

"There's definitely people who are not going to be happy about it," Catanzara said. "There are more Democrats, locally speaking, but there's even some Democrats who would agree that the current president has been very good for employment and law enforcement these days."

The union is just the latest in a long line of pro-law enforcement organizations to back the president's reelection.

In July, the National Association of Police Organizations endorsed Trump after supporting former President Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012. Then police unions in Florida and New York City also signaled their support for Trump.