by James R. Scott, The Chicago Times
November 1, 2021
CHICAGO – In a compromise decision, a judge ruled that Chicago Police officers can, for the time being, opt out of the COVID-19 vaccine, but the same judge also stated that officers must comply with the city’s requirement that they report their vaccination status.
According to CPD Supt. David Brown, 35 officers are currently on no-pay status due to noncompliance with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s vaccination reporting mandate.
The judge’s order appears to be limited to members of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police.
A federal judge denied a request from two other city worker unions last Friday to block Chicago’s December 31st deadline for vaccination-related mandates. These unions will be in court again on Friday.
Gov. JB Pritzker responded on Monday to a Cook County judge’s order prohibiting the city of Chicago from requiring police officers to be vaccinated for the time being.
“The judge is actually just affirming what we already knew at the state level and are doing,” Pritzker made in a statement.
The Chicago Times 