Chicago City Wire

The Fraternal Order of Police is continuing its fight against Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the face of her continued push to mandate vaccines for the city’s police.

FOP President John Catanzara said the Lightfoot administration was successful in breaking up an Oct. 26 police protest.

“Let's start with yesterday's demonstration protest,” Catanzara told Chicago’s Morning Answer. “'Communist country' was a pretty accurate description. I have never seen the level of security on the main floor of headquarters in my entire career. They had choke points on both entrances.”

The police held the protest near headquarters at 35th Street and Michigan Avenue, but the Lightfoot administration told officers they would be reprimanded if they showed.

Catanzara said the police officers against the vaccine were being herded.

“It was ludicrous the way they are now treating members — and then even when you went up to human resources on the third floor, there was still a whole 'nother section of the hallway that was blocked off with an exemplary member standing there asking 'what isyour business?'” he said. “So nobody could show up to human resources.”

In addition, after the protest, Catanzara said the threat of discipline has led some officers to upload their status.

“They are controlling your numbers so they can sit here and say, like, this is no big deal,” Catanzara said. “The police department is not an issue and there is no really revolt on the stand or anything being made, etc. So if you do end up now going around to try and circumvent that process where you have to submit your self-information, then you will be given a discipline.”

In response, Catanzara said more police have signed up for the vaccine portal.

“[N]ew depths and lows than ever before, because we have the courage to stand up and say, ‘This is just wrong, I'm not doing it,’” Catanzara said.

The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police have called Lightfoot’s actions an overreach, according to the Chicago City Wire. City workers argue COVID-19 vaccines are not included in city’s collective bargaining agreement.

When the vaccine disclosure deadline arrived on Oct. 15, 21 officers were suspended without pay for their roles in pushing back against the vaccine mandate, the publication reported. The number has now grow to 23.

Nearly a third of the city’s police officers have not uploaded their vaccine status, Chicago City Wire reported. 

Earlier this week a group of alderman failed to pas an ordinance rescinding Lightfoot’s executive orders mandating police and other city workers upload vaccine status.

“Examples of aldermen taking the coward's way out of doing the right thing and protecting union rights,” Catanzara said. “This has always been about our collective bargaining rights and the city's obligation to follow the process properly, which they have not done from the start.”  

He said Lightfoot is a “dictator who is hell-bent on total control over everything.

“Alderman Tabares bravely stepped forward and did the right thing, and she is my alderman in the 23rd ward — not that I asked her to do this in any way, shape or form. She just believes it's the right thing to do because you shouldn't be ruling as a dictator,” Catanzara said.  

He said the FOP will be targeting aldermen who are standing with Lightfoot, and that the city’s most powerful public sector unions were against the COVID-19 vaccine portal.

“This was all insanely unnecessary to get even to this point in negotiations,” Catanzara said. “All four unions called out the city on their stupid policy to begin with, where they're saying this is about public safety and the spread of the virus. If that was the point, we said from the beginning, then why isn't every officer, regardless of vaccine status, being tested every day before work? That is the safest way to know who's contagious and who's not, before they go out on the street interacting with the public, which is what you say you're trying to lessen.”

In addition, Catanzara said Lightfoot and city officials are overlooking the science by not allowing those who have antibodies.

“Scarily, our health, our health officials in this city who were on the original calls, said that it's not a valid argument. Natural immunity does not protect you,” he said.

He references controversial assertions that immunity gained from already contracting the virus is superior to that achieved from vaccination.

“They are so hypocritical of so many of their policies,” Catanzara said.

Catanzara said he has encouraged police who refuse to upload their status to the vaccine portal to report to duty and take a COVID-19 test if needed. However, right now the Chicago Police Department is only providing such tests twice per week.

“(That would give) you greater protection every single time because if you have one infection, you can still be contagious,” he said. “You can still get it and you could still die from it. So the vaccine does not protect you indefinitely ... like this is some armored shield. You never get the viruses, you got the vaccine, but you could still transmit it even with the vaccine.”

Catanzara has hinted at a run for the mayor’s office himself.

“Morale is never going to recover for this for the next few years,” Catanzara said. “There are so many people running this police department who have lost the respect of the rank and file. It used to be easy.”

Catanzara said police leadership is failing.

“You have members even that were highly respected are now standing in front of an officer and giving them an order to give away their contractually protected rights that those same exact numbers enjoy at one given point themselves. There is no way they recover their reputations, ever,” he said.