Chicago City Wire

LEDE IS NOT ACCURATE. THE BILL DOES NOT LIMIT SICK PAY. Unvaccinated teachers will have to use sick days for COVID-related absences, unless they get their COVID-19 shots within the next five weeks.

The Chicago Teachers Union is heralding a bill limiting funding for teachers sick from COVID to only those vaccinated within the next five weeks. 

“Now that the Governor has signed this bill this morning, educators no longer have to use sick days if we catch COVID-19, and can reclaim sick days previously used for COVID," the Chicago Teachers Union said in a press release. "Educators must be fully vaccinated within five weeks of today to receive the benefit. As defined by the law, fully vaccinated means either one or two rounds of a vaccine (depending on which one you receive) plus a booster.” 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the legislation — HB1167 — into law on April 5.

"I am proud to have signed into law another important achievement of this legislative session," Pritzker said in a tweet. "This bill is a fulfillment of the promise to ensure that vaccinated teachers and school employees will have paid COVID-related leave." 

The bill is emphatic in being limited to only the fully vaccinated.  

"Provides for COVID-19 paid administrative leave for school district employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19," the bill’s text reads.  "Provides for the return of sick leave used during the 2021-2022 school year to teachers and employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19."  

The measure would also revise several "Acts relating to the governance of public universities and community colleges in Illinois to provide for the return of sick leave used during the 2021-2022 school year to university or community college district employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19."  

"Provides for COVID-19 paid administrative leave for employees who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19," the bill reads. 

The CTU represents 25,000 members in Chicago Public Schools. It is the nation’s third-largest district and oversees 340,000 students. Around 8% of the employees are tested weekly for Covid due to being unvaccinated. CPS initially sought to withhold pay or punish those employees. The school system was in downstate Judge Raylene Grischow’s court in late March. Republican Attorney General candidate Tom Devore filed a temporary restraining order on behalf of six unvaccinated CPS employees.

Of the unvaccinated at CPS, over 1,500 have been granted exemptions from the vaccination due to medical or religious reasons. The bill's sponsors said it covers those employees as well.

The move comes despite clear evidence the vaccinated often contract and spread Covid the virus, and are regularly counted among the dead. A Michigan study between Jan. 1 and Mar. 3, 2021, of Covid vaccinated residents found that 246 "considered fully vaccinated were later diagnosed with the virus, and three have died.