Chicago police union head urges cops to defy vaccine mandate

By DON BABWIN
Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — The head of the Chicago police officers union has called on its members to defy the city’s requirement to report their COVID-19 vaccination status before the weekend or be placed on unpaid leave. In the video posted online Tuesday, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara vowed to take Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s administration to court if it tries to enforce the mandate, which requires city workers to report their vaccine status by Friday. Unvaccinated workers who won’t submit to semiweekly coronavirus testing will be placed on unpaid leave. Catanzara suggested that if the city does enforce its requirement and many union members don’t comply with it, the city’s police force will be “at 50% or less” this weekend.