City Council Upholds Employee Vaccine Mandate, Blocks Power Grab

CHICAGO — Thirty aldermen on Friday voted down an attempt to eliminate City Hall's vaccine mandate and strip Mayor Lori Lightfoot's control over all policies related to employee discipline.

Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd), who championed the failed ordinance, argued that the vaccine mandate could lead to police and fire department staffing shortages.

“I know this is a tough vote for some, but what are we going to tell our residents who missed a garbage pickup, or had to wait extra time for an ambulance during a medical emergency? What are we going to tell the victim of crime in our ward who had to remain in harm’s way, because a police force staffing crisis was made worse by a mandate that we had no control over?” she said.

Lightfoot accused folks making that argument of "fearmongering," and asked for aldermen to put an end to it.

"This ordinance strips the executive of the ability to manage the executive branch, to manage the 30,000 employees in the executive departments. That’s what this is about," she said.

After more than two hours of debate, 13 aldermen, including Tabares, who called Friday's special City Council meeting were unable to sway any of their colleagues to vote for the proposal.

Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) said the debate was a struggle over power, saying "the vaccination is really a red herring."

"If individuals under the employ of the city of Chicago can randomly choose what they will and will not do, being given a direction, that’s a huge problem," he said.

"For a minority to attempt to take the city hostage by saying that, oh, you won’t get ambulance service. If your house go up in flames, nobody will be there to put it out, or when you dial 911, nobody will respond; that’s hostage-taking, because they don’t want to comply with the policy that’s been given."