City Hall Drops Lawsuit Against Police Union Over Vaccine Mandate

CHICAGO — City Hall dropped its lawsuit that aimed to prevent Chicago police union boss John Catanzara from urging rank-and-file cops to defy the city's vaccine mandate for all employees.

"At my direction, the City’s Department of Law voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit against the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 without prejudice," Mayor Lightfoot said in a statement.

The mayor's reason: "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," she said.

City attorneys filed for a temporary restraining order after Catanzara told union members to walk off the job rather than comply with the City Hall mandate for employees to report their coronavirus vaccination status. Catanzara also led a protest at a City Council meeting where he threatened political retribution against aldermen who didn't support a vote to overturn the vaccine mandate.

The police union filed its own lawsuit aiming to strike down the vaccine requirement.

Last month, a Cook County judge ordered Lightfoot's Dec. 31 deadline for all city employees to be vaccinated can't be enforced without first negotiating with the Fraternal Order of Police.

Lightfoot said in a statement that if Catanzara takes any more steps to push for an" illegal work stoppage or strike, we can and will immediately refile this action."

A post on the police union's Facebook page said about 30 percent of its members have complied with the city mandated vaccine reporting "under duress and force."

The Facebook post included an archive photo of a Chicago police officer showing off his middle finger and a note: "When the nation's worst mayor pops off with more stupidity, there is only one response from the membership."

The police union's lawsuit remains pending in court.