CHICAGO (CN) — Members of Chicago's local Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 are less than happy after its President John Catanzara announced that the union's monthslong legal fight with City Hall over Covid-19 vaccination rules did not end in their favor.
The city's police unions, which operate under the FOP Lodge 7 umbrella, and Catanzara particularly, have opposed the city's vaccine mandate for municipal employees since Mayor Lori Lightfoot first announced them last August. In October, the police unions and the city sued each other over the vaccine mandate. The suits petered out in December after the city saw that most officers were complying with the mandate anyway, and after the FOP won an injunction against enforcement of the mandate's punitive measures for its members pending arbitration with the Illinois Labor Relations Board.
Two months later, the results are in: an arbitrator released an order Wednesday night that police must comply with the mandate or face the consequences the city laid out for noncompliance, up to and including termination.
"There are some issues that are still yet to be resolved, but the most important factor is that the arbitrator ruled... we will be forced to get the vaccine," Catanzara said.
Union members and sympathizers took to the FOP's social media pages overnight and into Thursday morning to voice their frustration.
"What is the next step to fight this?! We can’t give up!!!" one FOP supporter named Bridget Ann proclaimed Thursday.
Some said they believed the ruling would result in a mass exodus of police from the city.
"I hope there is a mass exodus of Officers this year, the city will understand when there are no Police for hours!" another FOP supporter named Victoria Villa wrote.
Others were skeptical of that assertion, pointing out as Lightfoot did in December that much of the police force is already in compliance with the mandate – as of Tuesday, roughly 97.4%. With only about 74% being fully vaccinated, the police force nevertheless remains the least-vaccinated city department.
Lightfoot herself said at a Wednesday night press conference that she hoped the ruling would convince those members who still aren't vaccinated to get the jab, now that material consequences are back on the table.
"My hope is that with the arbitrator's ruling... that this is going to be the signal for those members who are not yet vaccinated to get vaccinated," the mayor said. "What we've seen over time is that the number of members that are actually vaccinated continues to inch up."
Lightfoot declined to answer how many FOP members she believed could face punishment for continuing to defy the mandate. However, the union's Hold the Line Hero's Fund, organized to help pay the living expenses of officers who choose to not comply with the mandate, indicates that at least 100 officers have chosen to take an effective suspension without pay since October. The fundraiser expires at the end of February, and has collected over $251,000 for noncomplaint officers so far.
The ruling, handed down by ILRB Arbitrator George Roumell, indicates that officers who wish to come back into the vaccinated fold have until March 13 to get their first shot, and until April 13 to get their second shot. Concessions will be made on a case-by-case basis for cops who fail to meet these deadlines despite a good-faith effort.
In his short Wednesday night video, Catanzara said Lightfoot has become a dictator and that he "can't call her a mayor anymore." He also said the FOP intends to continue to "push back" against her, telling members to "keep the faith" as the union considers its next steps following this legal defeat.
"She doesn't care about anything but a win. It's absolutely a disgusting, grotesque behavior of leadership," Catanzara said of Lightfoot.
In recent weeks, the controversial union president has stepped up this kind of political rhetoric and attacks on various members of Chicago and Illinois government. He has hinted since last fall that he intends to run for mayor of Chicago in 2023, and announced two weeks ago the FOP Board of Directors' decision to increase annual union dues to create a $2.5 million, pro-police PAC fund.
While Catanzara has no shortage of critics from the city's liberal and socialist factions, FOP members and sympathizers indicated Thursday that they would support any run he made for the mayor's office.
"John, Chicago direly needs your leadership," an FOP supporter going by Clark Kentington wrote on the union's Facebook page.
Lightfoot herself tried to avoid the fracas brewing on Wednesday night.
"I can't anticipate, nor would I even try to, what the FOP will do," she said.
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