Chicago police officers who refuse to get vaccinated won a milestone in their case on Monday.
Cook County Judge Raymond Mitchell paused a Dec. 31 deadline by which members of the Chicago Police Department had been required to be vaccinated. They still must submit regular coronavirus tests.
“The effect of this order is to send these parties back to the bargaining table and to promote labor peace by allowing them to pursue” remedies under Illinois law, Mitchell said.
INDIANA OFFICIALS RECRUIT UNVACCINATED CHICAGO POLICE
The testing requirements for officers who decide to remain unvaccinated is twice a week.
“The reporting obligation itself is a minimal intrusion, particularly considering that police officers already are obligated to provide medical information to their employer,” Mitchell said in his stay.
They were originally supposed to comply with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s order by Oct. 15.
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“We’ll proceed with our protocol to get officers in the portal and to ensure that if they’re not vaccinated that we make the case that vaccination saves lives and/or testing twice a week,” said Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown, according to NBC 5 Chicago.
Mitchell said Chicago’s public health objective and the police union’s “desire to pursue their grievances are not wholly irreconcilable.”
