Chicago vaccine mandate: All city workers will need to get COVID-19 vaccinations, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says

CHICAGO (WLS) – Chicago will require all city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said on Monday.

“City workers are absolutely going to have to get the vaccine,” Lightfoot said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

The announcement came hours after the FDA announced that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine had received full approval in the United States.

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Lightfoot added that the city has been working with the unions in recent weeks to finalize the plans. An official announcement is expected this week.

“We absolutely have to have a vaccine mandate,” added Lightfoot. “This is for the safety of everyone involved, especially members of the public who interact with city employees on a daily basis. It is important that coworkers also feel like they have a safe workplace.”

More companies and hospitals are moving forward with vaccination mandates with the number of COVID cases on the rise, especially with the more contagious delta variant. But already, some unions cling to it.

“We’re not just going to turn around and play dead for the mayor,” said John Catanzara Jr., president of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police. “She’s not going to force him to swallow our throats without a fight. And we’ll take him to court if necessary.”

Catanzara said the four police unions will meet with city hall on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the mandate. The Fraternal Order of Police said this was not part of the base’s recently negotiated contract.

“And we thought we understood that we were perfectly fine with the possibility for our members to decide for themselves without it being a mandate,” added Catanzara.

Lightfoot’s office said the announcement would be made in the coming days, but would not provide any details on the plan, or whether it would cover all or only some workers in the city.