BLP: A Chicago Cook County judge on Monday suspended the city’s policy mandating that all of its police officers take a COVID-19 jab by the end of the year or be fired, WBEZ Chicagoreported.
The ruling is a welcome victory for police unions, who argued the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate violates their collective bargaining agreements. Judge Raymond Mitchell ruled Monday that the COVID shot mandate should be halted for police officers until those complaints can be later settled later in arbitration.
Mitchell’s ruling does not impact other workers or other parts of the policy, meaning that any city employees who are not part of one of the four police unions will still be forced to get the shot by Dec. 31, 2021. All police officers in the city are required to share their COVID-19 jab status and are force tested twice a week should they choose to not take the shot.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said at an unrelated news conference Monday afternoon that her office is still looking over the order, adding that she herself has not yet looked at her own city’s policy. She would not say whether the dispute will be resolved by the end of the year, but insisted that the “mandate continues.” more here
Now that slap in the face to the mayor is funny 🤣