Illinois sheriffs tell Chicago Mayor Lightfoot they will not help with the 'preplanned police shortage' created by her vaccine mandate



Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been a fan of using her pandemic-discovered powers to dictate the lives of city residents and employees — though she has been happy to repeatedly violate her own COVID-19 mandates.

One her most infamous moves to date has been to require all Chicago cops to get vaccinated or hit the bricks.

The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police called on its members to not comply with Lightfoot's vaccine mandate. Union President John Catanzara said city officials refused to "bargain in good faith over this subject" and warned that the city could see its police force cut by 50% or more.

"It is the city's clear attempt to force officers with a 'chicken little, the sky is falling,' into compliance – do not fall for it," Catanzara told his members. "Hold the line."

Lightfoot has remained undeterred and has vowed to fire cops who refuse to get the jab. She has also accused the FOP of inducing an "insurrection."

In response to the predicted shortage of police in the Windy City, Illinois sheriffs in jurisdictions near and around Chicago have said they will not respond to fill the coming manpower gap, the Police Tribune reported.

What are the sheriffs saying?

The state has a statewide mutual aid system called the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, the Daily Herald said. The ILEAS is used to call in assistance during emergency situations.

Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain, DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, Lake County Sheriff John Idleburg, and Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird have all said they will not be sending their own officers to Chicago simply to help with Lightfoot's self-imposed police shortage.

"ILEAS typically responds to emergency situations where there is no opportunity for planning," Hain said Tuesday, according to the Daily Herald. "This situation to me is much different."

"It's like a preplanned police shortage," Mendrick said. "The lack of logic is the thing that astounds me."

"If there is a qualifying emergency situation and emergency assistance is requested, we will deploy personnel to assist, so long as we are able to maintain adequate staffing levels to keep the Lake County community safe," Idleburg told the paper.

Not only are the sheriffs refusing to help the city avoid a problem of its own making, some are also questioning the logic of bringing in unvaccinated sheriff's deputies to replace unvaccinated Chicago officers.

Mendrick and Hain both pointed out they do not require their deputies to get vaccinated as a condition of employment, the Police Tribune noted, so it would make no sense to send "potentially unvaccinated deputies in to fill the void created over the loss of unvaccinated CPD officers."

About more than vaccines

And the sheriffs are worried about more than just the vaccine situation — there's also the threat that their deputies could wind up being investigated at the whim of Chicago authorities, the Kane County Chronicle reported.

"I believe the polarization between the community and police is only reinforced by current Chicago politics," Hain said in a Facebook post cited by the Chronicle. "I will not send my personnel to Chicago, unless an officer is under direct duress, because I cannot support this slanted agenda. I also will not allow my deputies to be subjected to use force in the city and be under the prosecutorial jurisdiction of the Cook County State's Attorney."

Baird told the Chronicle he would not send any deputies to Chicago to cover policing gaps because, were there an incident, he would be worried that his deputies could wind up being invested by Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx.

"It sounds like Mayor Lightfoot is creating her own emergency with the decisions she's making with her police force and I don't feel that ILEAS assistance in this situation would be warranted," Baird said. "I would help an officer out if they were distressed. But she's bringing this upon herself."

Indiana officials welcome Chicago cops in danger of losing jobs over city's vaccine mandate: 'We're hiring!'



Officials in Indiana are urging Chicago police officers fed up with the city's new vaccine mandate to come across state lines where their services will be appreciated without the burden of government overreach.

What are the details?

"Hey Chicago Police Officers, we're hiring! No vaccine mandate," tweeted Indiana State Police Sgt. Glen Fifield this week in a not-so-subtle attempt to attract the disgruntled officers.

"Apply today," he added, including a link to the agency's website and noting his state's "lower taxes, great schools, [and] welcoming communities."

Hey Chicago Police Officers, we’re hiring! No vaccine mandate. Apply today at https://t.co/lTkLS6Jc9V Lower taxes,… https://t.co/gEIQTLqsss

— Sgt. Glen Fifield (@ISPLowell2) 1634698618.0

CNN reported Monday that, as outlined in a new memo, Chicago officers could be fired or have their pay withheld if they don't comply with the city's vaccination policy. It's the latest development in an ongoing battle between the police and the city's progressive leadership.

The policy, enacted in August by Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot, requires all city employees to either get vaccinated against the coronavirus or submit to twice-weekly testing at their own expense and on their own time to bypass the mandate through the end of the year.

With the deadline having come and gone, it is estimated that several thousand officers have yet to comply with the mandate and could be out of jobs soon. But they may not be out of work for long, that is if they're willing to relocate just 25 miles to neighboring Indiana.

What else?

In a statement to Fox News this week, Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun said those "3,000 Chicago cops defying this government overreach" would be welcomed with open arms in the Hoosier State."

"Our police do the hardest job in the world, and they deserve respect — not losing their pay or being fired for refusing to comply with a ridiculous vaccine mandate," he said. "Indiana's police departments are hiring now and will welcome you with the respect you deserve.

"My office stands ready to help connect Chicago police officers to an Indiana police department that is hiring now and doesn't have a vaccine mandate," Braun added. "Welcome to Indiana!"

Anything else?

Chief of Police Steve Scheckel of Munster, Indiana, a city situated only minutes from Illinois, also told Fox News that Chicago officers have a "brighter future right over the border."

He said he's already seen an increase in interest from officers in Chicago and noted that one has already been hired.

"We've been seeing more and more Chicago police officers when we do an emergency hire, which is basically a lateral transfer. They already have the academy [experience]," Scheckel said.

He reportedly added that he is "absolutely" open to the idea of working alongside those "looking for a better quality of life for their family" who may have lost their jobs due to a vaccine mandate.

"It's really just a step across the state line to a better life for the officer," he argued.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot accuses police union of 'insurrection' over opposition to vaccine mandate



Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot accused the Fraternal Order of Police of inducing an "insurrection" by opposing the city's vaccine mandate on public employees.

Lightfoot made the alarming accusation on Monday after the head of the union called on its members to defy the mandate.

"What we've seen from the Fraternal Order of Police, in particular leadership, is a lot of misinformation, a lot of half-truths, and, frankly, flat out lies in order to induce an insurrection. And we're not having that," said Lightfoot to reporters. "And so we want to make it very, very clear that the law is on our side. We feel very confident about it."

The city had initially demanded that all officers be vaccinated by August 15 but they backed off of that mandate and said that police were going to have until the end of the year to comply. However, they said that officers would have to tell the city whether they were vaccinated or not.

In a video to police union members last week, Chicago FOP President John Catanzara said the city doesn't have the right to mandate officers divulge their health information.

"I've made my status very clear as far as the vaccine, but I do not believe the city has the authority to mandate that to anybody — let alone that information about your medical history," Catanzara said.

He warned that 50% of police officers would not show up for work for the weekend. The city of Chicago claimed that 65% of the city's police force had complied with the vaccine mandate by informing officials of whether they had been vaccinated or not.

In response to the warning, Lightfoot said last week, "John Cantazara says a lot of things, a lot of it offensive, and racist and foolish."

A judge later issued a restraining order against Catanzara to stop using social media to oppose the mandate.

Lightfoot went on to explain Monday the basis of a lawsuit by the city against the union.

"So you ask the question of why the lawsuit," she said. "Because we believe that the FOP leadership is trying to foment an illegal work stoppage, a strike, pure and simple. We've laid that out in the materials. And we're not having that. The contract is clear."

Here's more about the battle over vaccines mandates:

Chicago's mayor and police officers face off over vaccine mandateswww.youtube.com