Chicago City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St. | Sun-Times file

Under former Inspector General Joe Ferguson and deputy IG for public safety Deborah Witzburg, the public safety section has done several high-profile audits and reports sharply critical of the police department and Lightfoot.

The third person ever to serve as Chicago’s deputy inspector general for public safety resigned Monday to pursue the top city watchdog’s job.

Deborah Witzburg’s resignation was prompted by her desire to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest as she seeks to a mayoral appointment to replace her newly-departed boss, Inspector General Joe Ferguson.

But it also means if Mayor Lori Lightfoot does not choose Witzburg as the city’s next inspector general, Chicago will lose its most outspoken, articulate and experienced advocate for police reform.

“Deborah has done an incredibly good job in that capacity. Deborah is spot-on when it comes down to — not just the investigations, but the explanation of those investigations,” said Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th), chairman of the City Council’s Committee on Public Safety.

“She came out to the communities. She spoke at several events — at least two or three in my ward alone. … She has a great relationship with a lot of my colleagues, which goes to her being very outward-focused in this office.”

Witzburg could face long odds, considering the political tensions that prompted Lightfoot to hint strongly she had no intention of reappointing Ferguson.

Under Ferguson and Witzburg’s leadership, the public safety section has done a series of high-profile audits and reports sharply critical of the Chicago Police Department and Lightfoot.

Those reports targeted everything from the error-filled gang database and the slow walk toward compliance with a federal consent decree to a ShotSpotter contract that, Witzburg contended, rarely leads to investigatory stops or evidence of gun crimes and can change the way officers interact with areas they’re charged with patrolling.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Chicago police form a line with batons out after an earlier clash with protesters in April near Logan Square Park, a day after the release of video showing a CPD officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old in March.

Even more damning and embarrassing to the mayor was the inspector general’s blistering critique of CPD’s handling of civil unrest last summer that devolved into two devastating rounds of looting.

It concluded CPD was “outflanked and unprepared” for problems it should have anticipated and that rank-and-file officers were “left to high-stakes improvisation without adequate supervision or guidance.”

Before ending his 12-year run as Chicago’s top watchdog, Ferguson also delivered a 163-page report on the botched police raid on the wrong home that humiliated social worker Anjanette Young, who was left handcuffed and naked for 40 minutes in a room full of male police officers.

Given all of that investigative history and how defensive Lightfoot can be when criticized, it appears unlikely the mayor will choose a new inspector general with potential to embarrass her as much as Ferguson did.

Taliaferro would only say he didn’t agree with some of Ferguson’s most recent investigations, nor did he like the way Ferguson handled the release of those reports.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Inspector General Joe Ferguson, who has since left that job, speaks to members of the City Council during budget hearings earlier this month.

“I don’t know whether they were politically-motivated. But I do know that they were very harsh toward our superintendent and, possibly, toward the mayor as well. They seemed to be one-sided,” Taliaferro said.

“If those investigations are being leaked to the media prior to any of us [aldermen] being able to see them and even before the superintendent gets an opportunity to respond, then anyone would start to question whether or not that report is politically-biased or politically-generated.”

The chairman added: “Deborah will have to stand on her record and the perception of that record by the mayor.”

In her letter to the mayor, written Monday, Witzburg said she was resigning, effective Nov. 12, to avoid compromising the independence of the inspector general’s office.

“Because the [Office of Inspector General’s] Public Safety Section oversees and makes recommendations to city departments including the office of the mayor, it is my responsibility to avoid any appearance or concern that the work of the section might be influenced by my candidacy for a mayoral appointment and that its independence might therefore be impaired,” Witzburg wrote.

Ferguson’s replacement will be chosen by a search committee composed of three mayoral appointees and two people chosen by the City Council.

The position of deputy inspector general for public safety was one of several reform measures the Council enacted in the furor following the court-ordered release of the Laquan McDonald shooting video.

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Jimmy Garoppolo ran for two touchdowns and threw for 322 yards to hand his hometown team, the Chicago Bears, its third-straight loss. The 49ers snapped their four-game losing streak with the win. Garoppollo was thrilled he played in front of his family and friends. He was so excited on his second score he chucked the […] Chicago Bears: The good, okay, bad and awful vs San Francisco 49ers – Da Windy City – Da Windy City – A Chicago Sports Site – Bears, Bulls, Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks, Fighting Illini & MoreRead More

Kyle Rittenhouse walks into court for the start of jury selection on the first day of his trial in Kenosha, Wis., Circuit Court, Monday Nov. 1, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. | AP

Judge Bruce Schroeder told attorneys he thinks picking the 20-member jury pool from 150 prospective jurors can be accomplished in a day.

KENOSHA, Wis. – The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse opened Monday with the challenging task of seating jurors who hadn’t already made up their minds about the young aspiring police officer who shot two people to death and wounded a third during a night of anti-racism protests in Kenosha last year.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he made the short trip from his home in Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, during unrest that broke out in August 2020 after a white Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Rittenhouse, now 18, faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree homicide, one of several charges against him. His lawyers have argued he fired in self-defense.

Judge Bruce Schroeder stressed repeatedly that jurors must decide the case solely on what they hear in the courtroom, and cautioned: “This is not a political trial.”

“It was mentioned by both political campaigns and the presidential campaign last year, in some instances very, very imprudently,” he said.

And he said there has been inaccurate information written by people who “don’t know what you’re going to know. Those of you who are selected for this jury, who are going to hear for yourselves the real evidence in this case.”

The judge said Rittenhouse’s constitutional right to a fair trial, not the Second Amendment right to bear arms, will come into play, and “I don’t want it to get sidetracked into other issues.”

Still, many jurors said they had already made up their minds, and at least 19 had been dismissed by the lunch break for a variety of reasons. Among them were a man who said he was at the site of the protests when “all that happened” and a woman who said she knew one of the potential witnesses in the case well and would probably weigh that person’s testimony more than that of others.

Another woman who said she watched a livestream video of what happened was dismissed because she wasn’t sure if she could put aside what she saw. One person was dropped from the case after she said she was bound by the Biblical injunction “Thou shall not kill,” even in cases of self-defense.

Another woman was dismissed after saying she was mad about the unrest in the city. A man who said he had “been commenting consistently on news feeds and Facebook” was also excused.

A man who said his son is friends with the man who bought the gun that Rittenhouse went on to use in the shooting, was not immediately dismissed by the judge.

Schroeder told attorneys he thinks picking the jury from 150 prospective jurors could be accomplished in a day.

Jury selection got off to a slow start. During the unexplained delay, the judge played a mock game of “Jeopardy!” with prospective jurors in the courtroom, something he sometimes does as attorneys get organized. This prompted many negative comments on a Facebook livestream of the trial, with many saying it was inappropriate.

Schroeder told the potential jurors he would select 20 of them to hear the case, which is expected to last about two weeks. Ultimately, 12 will deliberate, and the rest will be dismissed as alternates. He said he will almost certainly not sequester the jury.

Attorneys for both sides had urged the judge to send questionnaires to the people summoned as potential jurors to detect bias and speed the process. Schroeder, the longest-serving circuit court judge in Wisconsin, denied the request.

The judge said he disliked questionnaires in general because he was afraid most people won’t fill them out or that it would tip them off that they may be on the Rittenhouse case, increasing the chances they would discuss it with friends and family.

The case has been polarizing, with Rittenhouse painted by his backers as a patriot exercising his self-defense and Second Amendment gun rights. Others see him as a vigilante and police wannabe who never should have been armed in Kenosha in the first place. Rittenhouse is white, as were those he shot, but many are watching his trial as the latest referendum on race and the American legal system.

Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on Aug. 25. Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a protester from West Allis, Wisconsin.

Bystander video captured Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse but not the actual shooting. Video showed Huber swinging a skateboard at Rittenhouse before he was shot. Grosskreutz had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse and was shot.

Rittenhouse faces two homicide counts, one of attempted homicide and two of recklessly endangering safety for firing his weapon near others. He is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.

Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin, Forliti from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed from Fenton, Michigan.

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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, left, and Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHLPA, speak during a news conference in this 2016 file photo. | AP

Gary Bettman on Monday defended the NHL’s decisions and discipline meted out following an investigation into the Blackhawks’ handling of sexual assault allegations in 2010.

Commissioner Gary Bettman on Monday defended the NHL’s decisions and discipline meted out following an investigation into the Blackhawks’ handling of sexual assault allegations in 2010.

Bettman called the organization’s $2 million fine “significant” and stood by decisions to let Joel Quenneville coach one more game and not discipline Winnipeg general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff based on his limited role in Chicago’s front office at the time. Quenneville resigned as Florida Panthers coach after meeting with Bettman last week.

In his first public comments since the report detailing the Blackhawks investigation was released, Bettman said he did not want anyone to think he was prejudging Quenneville, who was the Hawks’ coach when allegations surfaced that video coach Brad Aldrich sexually assaulted prospect Kyle Beach 11 years ago.

Asked if Quenneville was given any kind of ultimatum, Bettman said, “Joel ultimately [concluded] that the most sensible course of action was for him to resign.”

Cheveldayoff is the only person in Blackhawks management at the time who still works for an NHL club. Cheveldayoff was present at a meeting about Beach’s allegations in May 2010, but Bettman said the former assistant GM “was such a minor player in this” and “had no responsibility for” the organization’s mishandling of the situation.

Cheveldayoff was scheduled to address reporters Monday, though that was pushed back by the Jets because owner Mark Chipman suffered a bout of vertigo over the weekend and insisted on being there for the news conference.

The NHL Players’ Association has an executive board meeting scheduled for later Monday to discuss how Beach’s allegations were handled.

“I know I reported every single detail to an individual at the NHLPA, who I was put in contact with after,” Beach said during his interview on TSN in Canada on Wednesday, his first since coming out as John Doe. “I believe two different people talked to (NHLPA head) Don Fehr. And for him to turn his back on the players when his one job is to protect the players at all costs, I don’t know how that can be your leader. I don’t know how he can be in charge.”

Fehr signed on as an NHLPA adviser in the summer of 2010 after Aldrich resigned rather than face a Blackhawks investigation. Fehr was named NHLPA executive director in December of that year.

In a statement last week, Fehr said the person Beach spoke with was a program doctor at the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program, which while confidential he added should have resulted in further action because of its severity.

“The fact that it did not was a serious failure,” Fehr said. “There is no doubt that the system failed to support him in his time of need, and we are part of that system.”

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Justin Fields begins to celebrate his 22-yard touchdown run Sunday. | David Banks, AP Photos

Despite losing 33-22 to the 49ers on Sunday, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields posted his most promising performance of the season. Analyzing two throws and two runs:

Despite losing 33-22 to the 49ers on Sunday, Bears rookie quarterback Justin Fields posted his most promising performance of the season. Breaking down two throws and two runs:

The ‘mailbox’ throw

The Bears struggled in the red zone — but their only touchdown from it required absolute precision.

Three minutes into the second quarter, Fields faked a handoff and bootlegged left. Jesse James, who lined up between left tackle Jason Peters and fellow tight end Cole Kmet, ran a corner route, dove and caught an eight-yard touchdown pass.

The Bears have been working on having Fields throw while rolling left. Sunday, he turned his hips and kicked his left leg out to help balance himself. His throw whizzed past the outstretched arms of cornerback Josh Norman.

“To flip your hips and have the accuracy to be able to put it literally an inch outside the defender’s hands to the only place Jesse could catch the football — special,” Bears coach Matt Nagy said Monday. “You love seeing it.”

How big was Fields’ window to throw a completion? Quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo used both hands to make the shape of a small box.

“Awesome,” DeFilippo said. “I mean, that’s a mailbox throw.”

The rhythm throw

The Bears split speedy receiver Marquise Goodwin right on third-and-13 about two minutes into the second half. Fields took the shotgun snap, took five steps back and rifled a pass to Goodwin on a slant. The Bears gained 22 yards, tied for their longest play all afternoon.

Fields threw quickly because the 49ers blitzed Talanoa Hufanga from the wide side of the field. His pass was perfect: inside of cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, who was playing man coverage on Goodwin, and outside of linebacker Fred Warner, who had dropped to cover Kmet. Goodwin caught the slant pass 13 yards deep and ran for another nine.

“One missed tackle and that’s a touchdown … ” Nagy said. “It was on time. It was in rhythm. And it allowed us to succeed on third down. That was probably one of the greatest parts of [Sunday] was the third-down timing.. … Justin for 99 percent of the day was on time and in rhythm.”

Fields said he recognized the 49ers were playing Cover-1 Robber, a man coverage scheme in which one safety drops down toward the line of scrimmage just before the snap.

“We get [Goodwin] up in the slant route and he’s one of the fastest guys on the team, so once he catches the ball, it’s hard to catch him,” Fields said. “He made a great catch and a great run after the catch on that play.”

The ‘generational’ run

One of the best parts of Fields’ highlight-reel fourth-and-1 touchdown run Sunday was what he did before the snap. The Bears were in the wrong formation.

Under center in the fourth quarter, Fields watched as his tight ends settled in the right spot, eventually. He pointed for receiver Darnell Mooney to move from the left slot to the right flank. With four seconds left on the play clock, Mooney ran a jet motion back across to the left side before Fields snapped the ball.

“I thought he did a great job of making sure not only did we get straight, but we were legal,” DeFilippo said. “Because we had to make sure everyone was set and then send the jet motion back.”

Moseley was a late in following Mooney across the formation, leaving him in perfect position to cover Khalil Herbert in the right flat. Fields, who had dropped back to pass, was left to scramble. He first made defensive lineman Arik Armstread miss, then ran parallel to the line of the scrimmage and up the left sideline for a 22-yard touchdown.

“That’s a generational-type run,” DeFilippo said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”

The planned run

Fields finished with 103 rushing yards, but only one of his carries was on a designed run. About two minutes into the fourth quarter, Fields took a shotgun snap and faked a handoff to running back Ryan Nall, who was standing to his left.

The zone-read fake fooled the 49ers, for once. Edge rusher Nick Bosa was allowed to rush free — that’s part of the zone-read blocking plan — and crashed down over past left tackle Jason Peters toward Nall.

Reading that Bosa had crashed down too fast, Fields faked the handoff and ran left. Kmet pulled outside to block Norman, and Fields ran for 14. The Bears ran more read-option than in recent weeks, though the 49ers were — with that one exception — careful to make sure Fields didn’t keep the ball. That opened up the inside handoffs, and figures to do the same moving forward.

Even if he just hands the ball off, Fields occupying the defensive end evens the odds.

“Our goal all the time is to play what we say is 10-on-10 football,” DeFilippo said. “Because, really, with the quarterback, you’re always outnumbered by one.”

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Halloween is over and it’s officially Day of the Dead as the calendar flips to November. To celebrate, our friends at FOCO are releasing some special Day of the Dead bobbleheads for Chicago sports teams!

Available for preorder now, fans can get a Chicago Bears, and Chicago Cubs Day of the Dead Bobblehead now! Each bobblehead is $50 and limited to 221 made. Take a look at them below:

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A police car sits outside a house Sunday evening where more than 12 people were wounded, two of them fatally, in a shooting early Sunday at a Halloween party in Joliet Township. | Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times

The gunfire erupted early Sunday near a DJ booth set up in the backyard of a home, authorities said. Witnesses reported two gunmen opened fire “from an elevated position on a porch looking down over the crowd” of more than 200 people.

Two people in their early 20s were killed and at least 10 other people were wounded when shots were fired at a Halloween party in Will County early Sunday.

The two fatalities were both 22-year-old Joliet residents: Holly Mathews and Jonathan Ceballos, according to the Will County coroner’s office. Autopsies performed Monday found they each died of a single gunshot wound.

The shooting erupted about 12:40 a.m. near a DJ booth that was set up in the backyard of a home in the 1000 block of East Jackson Street in Joliet Township, according to a statement from the Will County sheriff’s office.

Witnesses told detectives that two gunmen opened fire “from an elevated position on a porch looking down over the crowd” of more than 200 people.

A patrol sergeant who was in the area heard as many as 12 gunshots ring out near Jackson and Walnut streets and began investigating, the sheriff’s office said. The sergeant then saw over 100 people rushing east on Jackson, and he was directed to the home.

Police officials ultimately found over a dozen people suffering from gunshot wounds in the backyard and at nearby residences, the sheriff’s office said. As authorities were investigating, additional shots were heard in the area.

Two of the victims succumbed to their wounds, while four others suffered injuries that were thought to be life-threatening, the sheriff’s office said.

News of the Halloween gathering had spread on social media, attracting a larger crowd than what the organizers had expected, according to Elizabeth Arias, a neighbor who said she was a relative of the people who threw the party.

Several neighbors knew something wasn’t right when they saw parked cars lined both sides of the streets in what is typically a quiet neighborhood. At least three people said they had called the police to report loud music and ask for crowd control. The party organizers also called the police, according to Arias, who spoke to them earlier in the day.

Police arrived but were “just out here waiting for them to leave,” Arias said.

“This could’ve been avoided,” said Arias, whose son and niece were at the get-together.

Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Police tape blocks access to the house where more than 12 people were wounded, two of them fatally, in a shooting early Sunday at a Halloween party near the 1000 block of Jackson Street in Joliet Township.

Arias’ son told her that organizers had shut the music off and told people that the police were on their way in an attempt to get people to leave. But that didn’t happen.

Another woman who lived near the event said she heard the gunshots as she laid in bed. When she got to her porch she saw a chaotic scene of a stampede of young people running, leaving behind crushed red cups and beer cans.

“It was crazy, kids running everywhere screaming. But police were here, they were on it,” the woman said.

Arias and her neighbor took in some of the rattled partygoers who were seeking shelter.

“You could hear more shots being fired,” Arias said. People were running through a wooded area near the home, using their cellphone’s flashlights to see where they were going. Some even jumped over a fence. “It was so scary … It was something out of the movies.”

Arias said she had never seen anything like what happened Sunday morning.

“That’s why I refuse to move because it’s so quiet here,” she said.

Another woman said she had moved to the area three years ago from the West Side of Chicago to get away from gun violence.

“This is the first time” something like this happened, she said. “This is crazy.”

One of the suspected shooters was described as a Hispanic male with facial hair and a medium build who was seen wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, a black flat-billed hat and dark pants, the sheriff’s office said.

The other suspect, who donned a ski mask, was described as a male — possibly Hispanic or Black of a light complexion — with a medium build, the sheriff’s office said. He was seen wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt.

The sheriff’s office is seeking further assistance identifying the shooters. Anyone with information, including cellphone photos or video of the party, should contact Detective Danielle Strohm at (815) 727-8574 or [email protected].

Tipsters who wish to remain anonymous can submit a tip to the sheriff’s office’s website or contact Will County Crime Stoppers at (800) 323-6734 or its website.

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Kyle Rittenhouse walks into court for the start of jury selection on the first day of his trial in Kenosha, Wis., Circuit Court, Monday Nov. 1, 2021. Rittenhouse is accused of killing two people and wounding a third during a protest over police brutality in Kenosha, last year. | AP

Judge Bruce Schroeder told attorneys he thinks picking the 20-member jury pool from 150 prospective jurors can be accomplished in a day.

KENOSHA, Wis. – The trial of Kyle Rittenhouse opened Monday with the challenging task of seating jurors who hadn’t already made up their minds about the young aspiring police officer who shot two people to death and wounded a third during a night of anti-racism protests in Kenosha last year.

Rittenhouse was 17 when he made the short trip from his home in Illinois, just across the Wisconsin state line, during unrest that broke out in August 2020 after a white Kenosha police officer shot Jacob Blake, a Black man.

Rittenhouse, now 18, faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree homicide, one of several charges against him. His lawyers have argued he fired in self-defense.

Judge Bruce Schroeder stressed repeatedly that jurors must decide the case solely on what they hear in the courtroom, and cautioned: “This is not a political trial.”

“It was mentioned by both political campaigns and the presidential campaign last year, in some instances very, very imprudently,” he said.

And he said there has been inaccurate information written by people who “don’t know what you’re going to know. Those of you who are selected for this jury, who are going to hear for yourselves the real evidence in this case.”

The judge said Rittenhouse’s constitutional right to a fair trial, not the Second Amendment right to bear arms, will come into play, and “I don’t want it to get sidetracked into other issues.”

Still, many jurors said they had already made up their minds, and at least 19 had been dismissed by the lunch break for a variety of reasons. Among them were a man who said he was at the site of the protests when “all that happened” and a woman who said she knew one of the potential witnesses in the case well and would probably weigh that person’s testimony more than that of others.

Another woman who said she watched a livestream video of what happened was dismissed because she wasn’t sure if she could put aside what she saw. One person was dropped from the case after she said she was bound by the Biblical injunction “Thou shall not kill,” even in cases of self-defense.

Another woman was dismissed after saying she was mad about the unrest in the city. A man who said he had “been commenting consistently on news feeds and Facebook” was also excused.

A man who said his son is friends with the man who bought the gun that Rittenhouse went on to use in the shooting, was not immediately dismissed by the judge.

Schroeder told attorneys he thinks picking the jury from 150 prospective jurors could be accomplished in a day.

Jury selection got off to a slow start. During the unexplained delay, the judge played a mock game of “Jeopardy!” with prospective jurors in the courtroom, something he sometimes does as attorneys get organized. This prompted many negative comments on a Facebook livestream of the trial, with many saying it was inappropriate.

Schroeder told the potential jurors he would select 20 of them to hear the case, which is expected to last about two weeks. Ultimately, 12 will deliberate, and the rest will be dismissed as alternates. He said he will almost certainly not sequester the jury.

Attorneys for both sides had urged the judge to send questionnaires to the people summoned as potential jurors to detect bias and speed the process. Schroeder, the longest-serving circuit court judge in Wisconsin, denied the request.

The judge said he disliked questionnaires in general because he was afraid most people won’t fill them out or that it would tip them off that they may be on the Rittenhouse case, increasing the chances they would discuss it with friends and family.

The case has been polarizing, with Rittenhouse painted by his backers as a patriot exercising his self-defense and Second Amendment gun rights. Others see him as a vigilante and police wannabe who never should have been armed in Kenosha in the first place. Rittenhouse is white, as were those he shot, but many are watching his trial as the latest referendum on race and the American legal system.

Rittenhouse fatally shot Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, with an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle after Rosenbaum chased Rittenhouse across a parking lot and threw a plastic bag at him shortly before midnight on Aug. 25. Moments later, as Rittenhouse was running down a street, he shot and killed Anthony Huber, 26, a protester from Silver Lake, Wisconsin, and wounded Gaige Grosskreutz, 27, a protester from West Allis, Wisconsin.

Bystander video captured Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse but not the actual shooting. Video showed Huber swinging a skateboard at Rittenhouse before he was shot. Grosskreutz had a gun in his hand as he stepped toward Rittenhouse and was shot.

Rittenhouse faces two homicide counts, one of attempted homicide and two of recklessly endangering safety for firing his weapon near others. He is also charged with possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18.

Bauer reported from Madison, Wisconsin, Forliti from Minneapolis. Associated Press writer Tammy Webber contributed from Fenton, Michigan.

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Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 members and their supporters protested against COVID-19 vaccine mandates outside City Hall last week. | Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

A ruling issued Monday stays the Dec. 31 city mandate for police officers to be vaccinated, but leaves current testing and reporting requirements in place.

A Cook County judge on Monday effectively sent city attorneys and the Chicago Police Department’s labor unions back to the bargaining table to resolve a dispute over the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate — but also told the city it can’t require officers to get vaccinated by the end of the year.

The case “presents two competing public interests, but one interest need not be scuttled in favor of another,” Judge Raymond Mitchell wrote in his ruling. “The City’s public health objective and the police union’s desire to pursue their grievances are not wholly irreconcilable.”

Mitchell, who heard arguments in the case last week by attorneys for the Fraternal Order of Police and the city, left intact the requirement that Chicago Police Department officers report their vaccine status and the city’s current policy requiring multiple weekly tests for unvaccinated officers. But Mitchell’s order does stay the Dec. 31 deadline for all officers to be vaccinated, urging the city and union to pursue a labor arbitration.

“The reporting obligation itself is a minimal intrusion,” Mitchell wrote, “particularly considering that police officers already are obligated to provide medical information to their employer.”

Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents rank-and-file officers, was joined in its lawsuit by smaller unions representing CPD sergeants, lieutenants and captains.

The order would not appear to alter the status of officers who have so far refused to divulge their vaccination status, in violation of an Oct. 15 deadline imposed by the department. According to statements made in court, there are 27 officers who have been placed in “non-disciplinary, no-pay status” for refusing to share their vaccination status. At a press conference last week, CPD Supt. David Brown had said 70% of the force had informed the department of their vaccination status using a city data portal, and 80% of those officers reported they had been vaccinated.

Ahead of the Oct. 15 deadline to report , FOP Lodge 7 John Catanzara had urged his members not to report their status, warning that if enough officers landed on no-pay status for refusing, the police force would be hobbled.

And though the judge left the reporting requirement in place, as for the deadline to be vaccinated, Mitchell wrote: “‘Obey now, grieve later’ is not possible. If every union member complied and was vaccinated by December 31 … they would have no grievance to pursue and there would be no remedy an arbitrator could award. An award of back pay or reinstatement cannot undo a vaccine. Nothing can.”

Noting that “judicial intervention in labor disputes is disfavored,” Mitchell wrote, “my intention is to enter to narrowest possible order to preserve the unions’ right to a meaningful arbitration. The balance of the City’s vaccination policy remains fully in effect, including the reporting and testing obligations.”

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times
Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 President John Catanzara addresses a group of union protesters and their supporters at a rally against COVID-19 vaccine mandates outside City Hall last week.

The FOP had sought a temporary restraining order to stop the city from enforcing its order requiring all city workers to share their vaccination status on an online portal and submit to twice-weekly testing if they are not fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Joel D’Alba, the police union’s attorney, had argued a hearing on Friday that the city should be ordered to stop enforcing its mandate entirely until the matter is resolved. D’Alba declined to comment on Monday’s ruling.

John Catanzara, president of the Lodge 7 of the Fraternal Order of Police, which represents rank-and-file officers, could not be reached for comment.

Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st), one of the police unions staunchest City Council allies, said the judge’s decision to stay the Dec. 31 vaccine deadline until the FOP’s grievances can be arbitrated is “a lot more American” than Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s mandate from on high.

“This is a terrific — I can’t say ‘victory’ because a lot of people have died from this virus. I just think this is the way things are supposed to be done and should have been done from the beginning. Instead of forcing people to do something, you bring it to a conversation and arbitration,” Napolitano said.

“This has become too much of a control situation. It was more of a beating somebody. More of the mayor against the union. The fundamentals of the contract have been denied. A collective bargaining agreement is just that. You collectively bargain for what you’re going to do to members. That was never done. That’s why this needs to go to arbitration.”

Monday’s ruling applies only to the police unions. But Napolitano said opposition to the vaccine mandate is coming from all city unions, not just those representing first-responders.

“This is employees citywide who are adamantly against putting an unresearched chemical in their body. They should have the opportunity to have it discussed and arbitrated. Now, it’s going to an arbitrator. That’s a win. It’s the way things should be,” the alderman said.

“I’m just hoping that this is kind of the segue to all other unions filing suits and having the same results. That’s what I’m hoping for.”

Napolitano said he would have preferred a more sweeping temporary restraining order that also stayed the requirement that police officers report their vaccine status on the city’s data portal.

But, he said: “You’ve got to take what you can get. It isn’t a bad thing for people to know who’s covered and who’s not covered so they can keep an eye on them for medical reasons. But that’s a big push in this, too. People don’t want to share that information. So, baby steps. Hopefully, that’s the next move in this.”

He added: “A lot of people have fought for many, many, many years — way before COVID — for the right to govern their own body. … And that has been completely stripped from city workers. And when it’s done through an executive order, it takes us out as a City Council and it’s a forced ruling.”

Napolitano has served the city as both a police officer and a firefighter. He represents a far Northwest Side ward that is home to scores of police officers.

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