Six Aldermen Send Mayor Lori Lightfoot Letter Opposing Vaccine Mandate For City Employees, Call It 'An Infringement On Their Personal Freedoms'
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Six aldermen have sent a letter to Mayor Lori Lightfoot, urging her to reconsider a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for all city employees, calling the requirement "an infringement on their personal freedoms."
"We are strongly opposed to this mandate and are urging you to reconsider your executive order," said the letter, signed by Alds. Derrick Curtis (18th), Silvana Tabares (23rd), Felix Cardona (31st), Nicholas Sposato (38th), Anthony Napolitano (41st), and James Gardiner (45th) signed the letter.
The aldermen who oppose the mandate said they have worked throughout the pandemic to help provide constituents with information about COVID-19, as well as protective measures like masks and hand sanitizer, while also promoting COVID vaccination events.
"While we have struggled with the effects that the COVID pandemic has created in all facets of our lives, the fact of the matter remains that this mandate is an infringement on our constitutional rights," they wrote.
The aldermen claimed a vaccine mandate for city workers would not prevent others from being infected, and noted that people who have been fully vaccinated can still be infected and transmit the virus to others.
"An individual must make their own decision as to whether to vaccinate and accept personal responsibility for their decision," the aldermen wrote.
While Mayor Lori Lightfoot has announced she will be requiring all city workers to be fully vaccinated by Oct. 15, she has yet to issue a formal executive order enacting the mandate, or spelling out what would happen to city workers who refuse to get vaccinated.
Lightfoot's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the aldermen's letter.
Last week, the mayor said she has had "great conversations with most unions" representing city workers regarding her plans for a vaccine mandate, but has not gotten anywhere with the Fraternal Order of Police or other unions representing members of the Chicago Police Department.
The FOP and other police unions have said they vehemently oppose a vaccine mandate for police officers, and will fight any effort to force them to get vaccinated.
Chicago FOP President John Catanzara compared the vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany.
"We're in America, G-ddamn it. We don't want to be forced to do anything. Period. This ain't Nazi f---ing Germany, [where they say], 'Step into the f---ing showers. The pills won't hurt you.' What the f--k?" he told the Sun-Times last month.
Catanzara later apologized after his comments drew widespread condemnation. However, he maintained that the FOP would continue to oppose the vaccine mandate.
