NOV 2021 Blues Vol 37 No. 11

Chicago PD: Most cops put on no-pay status
over vaccine changed their minds.
The city’s mandate required officers to report their vaccine status by
Friday, October 15.
By Stephanie Casanova
CHICAGO — Despite an ongoing
standoff between Chicago’s
police union and City Hall over
the COVID-19 vaccine mandate
for city employees, many Chicago
police officers are choosing
to comply rather than go on a
no-pay status, Police Department
officials said Tuesday.
As of Tuesday October 19, 21
officers were on no-pay status
because they refused to report
their vaccine status in a city portal,
police Superintendent David
Brown said at a news conference.
Department leaders have processed
hundreds of officers and
employees since Monday, many
of whom have decided to comply
with the city mandate after
getting more information, Brown
said.
Of the more than 12,000 department
employees, a number
that includes sworn officers and
civilian employees, almost 68%
have entered their information to
the portal, Brown said. Of those
employees, 82% are vaccinated,
he said.
Officers were supposed to report
their vaccine status by Friday
October 15, which previously was
the deadline for city workers to
be fully vaccinated until Mayor
Lori Lightfoot agreed to allow
those not yet vaccinated the option
of twice-weekly testing for
COVID-19 for the remainder of the
year.
Despite that concession, the
local Fraternal Order of Police
president, John Catanzara, openly
encouraged his members to
refuse to comply — until a judge
issued a gag order against him
Friday.
Employees who have not entered
their vaccine information
are being called into a counseling
meeting where police leaders
verify that it’s not an error that
they weren’t found in the portal.
Those who still refuse to comply
are given a direct order to
enter the portal, giving them a
third chance to comply with the
mandate, Brown said.
“So even though we’ve tried
to inform our employees of the
vaccine mandate, many are misinformed
through various sources
they listen to,” Brown said. “And
officers should be able to rely on
some of their union leadership for
accurate information. And many
have been misinformed.”
At one point 45 officers were on
no-pay status but many changed
their mind and decided to comply
with the mandate, said Don Terry,
a spokesperson for the Police
Department.
“This process has been obviously
very emotional,” Brown
said. “Going into a no-pay status
or receiving a direct order is a
very difficult conversation to have
with employees. We’ve given
them the time; we’ve given them
the explanation as best we can
on the serious nature of violating
the vaccination mandate.”
Brown said getting officers either
vaccinated or getting tested
twice a week is the department’s
number one priority.
“This is about officer safety,” he
said, adding that getting officers
in the portal will save the lives
of officers, their families, their
co-workers, and community
members who officers have to
come in contact with when answering
a 911 call.
Brown said the department
isn’t rushing through the process
and that his leadership expects
to process hundreds if not thousands
more in the coming weeks.
Brown isn’t worried the process
will lead to a shortage in officers,
and said besides the 21 officers on
no-pay status, everyone else has
continued to work and there has
been no officer shortage so far.
A call that went out for possible
help from suburban law-enforcement
agencies was merely
contingency planning, he said.
The FOP, meanwhile, released a
new video Tuesday telling officers
they don’t have to agree to
participate in what Brown called
counseling sessions over the vaccine
mandate.
Keeping officers, their families,
and the community safe from the
spread of COVID-19 is important
for both personal and professional
reasons, Brown said, referencing
the four CPD officers who
died of COVID-19 last year.
Former local FOP President
Dean Angelo Sr. died of COVID-19
complications last week.
Brown also said he had an
“anti-vaxxer” cousin and that she,
her husband, and their daughter
contracted COVID-19 and died
from the virus last month. He said
many people have similar stories
where they’ve been personally affected
and lost a family member
to the virus.
“The virus is the number one
killer of police officers,” Brown
said. “More than any other reason,
officers have been struck by this
virus and passed, and died from
this virus.”
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30 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 31