Aldermen Opposed To City Worker Vaccine Mandate Seek Special City Council Meeting To Repeal It
by Todd Feurer, CBS Chicago web producer
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A group of aldermen seeking to repeal Mayor Lori Lightfoot's vaccine mandate for city workers has filed notice to hold a special City Council meeting on Friday in an effort to force a vote on their proposal.
Earlier this week, Ald. Silvana Tabares (23rd) introduced an ordinance that would repeal Lightfoot's vaccine mandate for all city workers, and require City Council approval of any future such mandates. Fifteen other aldermen have signed on as co-sponsors.
On Wednesday, Tabares and a dozen other aldermen filed notice with the City Clerk's office, calling for a special meeting at 11 a.m. Friday to discuss that ordinance.
"To my colleagues who want to get more people vaccinated, I agree w/ u. But what makes more people willing to get vaccinated? 50 Alders who pass a policy based on collaboration and inclusion, or 1 mayor who has stormed off from the bargaining table & issued a mandate by force?" Tabares posted on Twitter.
Under City Council rules, any three aldermen can schedule special meetings to discuss specific issues, but a quorum of at least 26 aldermen would have to show up for the meeting to take place, so Lightfoot and her allies could potentially avoid a special meeting on the vaccine mandate by simply not attending.
Even if the meeting does go forward, with Lightfoot certain to veto any bid to repeal the vaccine mandate, aldermen seeking to undo it would need at least 34 votes, making it an extreme long shot.
Lightfoot's vaccine mandate has prompted the city's police union and another group of city workers to file separate lawsuits seeking to block it.
The city's vaccine mandate required all city workers to report their vaccination status by Oct. 15, or face the prospect of being placed on no-pay status. Unvaccinated city workers may opt to undergo twice weekly testing for COVID-19 through the end of the year, but come 2022, all city workers must be fully vaccinated.
The mayor declined to comment on the call from Tabares and other aldermen to hold a special City Council meeting on their bid to repeal the vaccine mandate, saying she was focused on the council's vote Wednesday to pass her 2022 budget plan.
"What I think is that today is a day for celebration, and we'll deal with the politics at another time," she said.
Lightfoot has blasted Tabares for her bid to repeal the vaccine mandate, accusing her of "carrying the water" for Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara.
The mayor last week said the proposal to repeal the vaccine mandate "will never see the light of day."
"It's foolishness, and I'm going to do everything I can to stop it," Lightfoot said on Friday.
