Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara is urging officers in the Windy City to defy Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, saying he will take her administration to court if necessary.
“In the video posted online Tuesday and first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara vowed to take Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to court if it tries to enforce the mandate, which requires city workers to report their vaccine status by the end of the work week. After Friday, unvaccinated workers who won’t submit to semiweekly coronavirus testing will be placed on unpaid leave,” reports NBC News.
“It’s safe to say that the city of Chicago will have a police force at 50% or less for this weekend coming up [if local politicians enforce the mandate],” said Catanzara.
Mayor Lightfoot told reporters this week the public health order is meant to “create a very safe workplace.”
“What we’re focused on is making sure that we maximize the opportunity to create a very safe workplace,” Lightfoot said. “The data is very clear. It is unfortunate that the FOP leadership has chosen to put out a counter-narrative. But the fact of the matter is, if you are not vaccinated, you are playing with your life, the life of your family, the life of your colleagues and members of the public.”
