Lori Lightfoot Actually Started Putting Non-Compliant Chicago Police Into Unpaid Status

thehill |  The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has begun placing officers on no-pay status for not reporting their coronavirus vaccination status, Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) said Monday.

In a news conference on Monday, Lightfoot said that CPD has been reaching out to officers who are not in compliance with the vaccine mandate to ensure that they are in compliance.

Lightfoot said that a “very small number” of officers have been put on no-pay status, even after having multiple opportunities to comply with the mandate. 

The Hill has reached out to CPD for further comment.

The update comes amid a back-and-forth between the city and the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police regarding the vaccine mandate.

The deadline for officers and all other city employees to come into compliance was Friday. The police department warned in a memo that officers who choose to disobey the mandate would “become the subject of a disciplinary investigation that could result in a penalty up to and including separation from the Chicago Police Department.”

John Catanzara, president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police, has repeatedly encouraged members to violate the mandate, to the point where the city sued Catanzara over his encouragement. A judge ruled Friday that he could no longer publicly discourage people from complying with the mandate.  

Under the city’s vaccine mandate, employees must report whether they are vaccinated, have an exemption, or will be undergoing weekly testing. The testing option is only available through Dec. 31, after which all employees will need to be vaccinated or have an exemption.  

As of Monday, 13 out of the city’s 35 departments are at 100 percent compliance, and another 29 departments are at 95 percent compliance, Lightfoot said.

Overall, 79 percent of city employees have reported their vaccination status, of which 84 percent are fully vaccinated. When not accounting for police and fire department employees, 96 percent of city employees are in compliance, of which 80 percent are fully vaccinated.