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Chicago files court complaint against Fraternal Order of Police over anti-vaccination push
The City of Chicago has filed a court complaint over the police union’s anti-vaccine push.
CHICAGO - The city of Chicago has dismissed their lawsuit against Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 over the vaccine mandate, Mayor Lightfoot said Wednesday.
"Today, at my direction, the City’s Department of Law voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 without prejudice," Lightfoot said in a statement.
The lawsuit was filed by the city in mid-October in response to John Catanzara, the president of FOP Lodge 7, calling for workers to engage in work stoppage or strike over the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
There has been major pushback against the mandate, and Catanzara said Lightfoot overstepped her boundaries and that the fight was not about the actual vaccine.
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Mayor Lori Lightfoot's full statement on the dismissal of the lawsuit can be found below:
"Today, at my direction, the City’s Department of Law voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 without prejudice
This Verified Complaint for Injunctive Relief was initially filed in response to the president of FOP Lodge 7, John Catanzara, repeatedly calling for his members to engage in an illegal work stoppage or strike—which is strictly prohibited under Illinois Law. The past few weeks have shown what I have said from the beginning to be true: that our brave police officers are smarter than their FOP leadership, and care more about their city, their fellow Chicagoans, and upholding their sworn oath to protect and serve, than they do Catanzara’s frivolous demands to stop working.
It should be noted, that should the FOP or John Catanzara take any further action toward encouraging an illegal work stoppage or strike, we can and will immediately refile this action.
From day one when this requirement was announced in August, this entire process has been and will continue to be about protecting the lives and safety of all Chicagoans. The data shows that we are succeeding in that mission, and that police officers recognize that protecting and serving in the times of global pandemic means ensuring that that they are vaccinated against COVID-19. The number of officers who have come into compliance with the City’s vaccine reporting mandate, as well as the mandatory vaccination policy, have continued to grow since October 15th, and I have complete confidence that the entire Department will be in compliance with City policy in the near future."