CHICAGO — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot didn’t receive the favorable response she apparently expected when multiple sheriffs in nearby jurisdictions refused her request to fill the gap in police manpower after she threatened to fire 3,000 local police personnel for resisting the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
The rude awakening came from DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick and Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain, Yahoo News reported. They said they’ve helped Lightfoot in the past, but her latest request is a self-inflicted wound that could have been avoided. They said they would limit their mutual aid of the Chicago Police Department to circumstances of duress.
“[The Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System] typically responds to emergency situations where there is no opportunity for planning,” Hain told the Daily Herald on Tuesday. “This situation to me is much different.”
“This is all begotten by a lack of planning and support of the Chicago Police Department,” Hain added. “So now, they are bleeding that out to us.”
Mendrick called the Chicago situation a “preplanned police shortage” and said, “The lack of logic is the thing that astounds me.”
At least 21 Chicago police officers are on no-pay status for their refusal to disclose if they have received a COVID-19 vaccination, Law Officer reported Wednesday. That figure is expected to increase as officers remain non-compliant with the city mandate.
