Town of Cicero Did Not Move Forward with Requiring Vaccination for Employees
Black Workers Matter organized a pop-up vaccination site on June 15th, 2021 in Cicero, Ill. to provide COVID-19 vaccines for Cicero workers (Photo by Abel Rodriguez).
By Michael Izquierdo
The Town of Cicero chose to not move forward with implementing their mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and testing policy, despite adopting the new ordinance at an October 26, 2021 town board meeting last year.
The original policy required all town employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or agree to voluntarily receive weekly COVID-19 testing at their own expense by December 6, 2021. Employees had to inform the Human Resource Department by November 8, 2021, which decision they made.
The Town decided to not move forward with implementing this policy due to a stay entered in BST Holdings, LLC. v. OSHA, temporarily suspending state and local government’s requirement for vaccination reporting or weekly testing.
The town spokesperson did not respond to requests for information on the rates of vaccination amongst town employees. In a statement to the Chicago Tribune President Larry Dominick said “We urge everyone to get vaccinated and to get the booster shots.”
Originally, Cicero Independiente filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on November 10, 2021, to receive data on how many town employees followed this new mandate, aggregated by department.
The request was denied on November 17, 2021, with a response saying, “no records responsive to your request could be located in the Town’s possession.”
Cicero Independiente appealed the denial to the Illinois Public Access Bureau. On January 20, 2022, the Town of Cicero responded to the appeal in a letter through the Del Galdo Law Group, the firm representing the town.
The letter stated, “the Town did not move forward with the implementation of vaccination reporting or weekly testing.”
The initial policy stated this was a requirement for all part-time, full-time and seasonal workers in town. All employees who failed to report or follow the ordinance may be subject to discipline, with risk of termination of employment.
In Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot issued a similar COVID-19 mandate for the city employees back in October of last year. An independent arbiter upheld Lightfoot’s mandate for some city workers to be fully vaccinated by December 31, 2021, unless they received an exemption.
More than 80 percent of Chicago’s city employees were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a November article published by Block Club Chicago.
Illinois vaccination requirements for state and local government employees are on hold pending federal litigation, according to the Illinois Department of Labor website.
Cicero and Berwyn residents that are looking to receive free COVID-19 tests can refer to this article for updated locations or can order four, free at-home tests here. Individuals that are still looking to receive their first and second vaccine shots or boosters can schedule appointments at the Cicero Health Department website here or by phone at (708) 656-3600 x147.
Michael Izquierdo is a local freelance journalist and a contributing reporter for Cicero Independiente.
Want to read more stories like this? Consider making a donation to support our work. Your money goes directly towards paying journalists of color to report on local news.
Subscribe
Bringing you news from the 60804
We respect your privacy and will only use your information to send you our latest posts.