Free Republic

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Friday the city has filed a complaint to stop police from potentially striking in reaction to layoffs due to a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Lightfoot and the police union have continued to bump heads as the deadline for the vaccine mandate looms: City employees must enter their vaccination status into an online portal by midnight Friday. The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and its president, John Catanzara, have argued that the mayor cannot force employees to disclose personal medical information, FOX 32 Chicago reported. Lightfoot has labeled the FOP’s arguments as "rhetoric of conspiracy theorists." "President...

The nation’s largest police union, along with its Chicago chapter, has endorsed Republican President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, potentially helping to boost his law-and-order message. While the endorsement might have been expected, it further illustrates a division between law enforcement and protesters who for months have railed against police brutality and called for racial justice after the killing of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. The endorsement isn’t likely to hold much sway for Trump in heavily Democratic Chicago, but John Catanzara, president of the local FOP and an outspoken Trump backer, is happy to antagonize the likes...

Illinois Democratic Rep. Bobby Rush blasted the Chicago police union over the weekend as “the sworn enemy of black people,” pushing back at the controversy surrounding prosecutor Kim Foxx and her office's handling of the Jussie Smollett case. During a press conference on Saturday, Rush, D-Ill., tore into Chicago’s Fraternal Order of Police after members of the union participated in protests demanding Cook County State's Attorney Foxx resign from her post. “The FOP is the sworn enemy of black people, the sworn enemy of black people,” Rush said Saturday. “The FOP has always taken the position that black people can...