Chicago aldermen to consider rule that would make all vaccine mandates subject to council approval

CHICAGO - An ordinance that would require Chicago city council approval of any vaccine mandates will be introduced at Monday's meeting

The proposal would also include any efforts to put employees on a no-pay status if they do not want to submit their vaccination status.

The measure comes as the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police union fights the city's vaccine rules in court. The city says employees need to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing.

About 70 percent of Chicago police personnel have complied with the city's demand that their vaccination status be entered into a data portal.

Chicago FOP president John Catanzara said he's asking officers to attend Monday's meeting. Though he has in the past compared vaccine mandates to Nazi regulations, more recently he has framed the battle as a union issue.

"This is about every labor union in the city," he said.

Catanzara said that a "heroes fund" has been set up by the police union to help the roughly two dozen officers who have been put on no-pay status because of their unwillingness to adhere to the COVID mandates.