Suburban Chicago-Area Sheriffs Say They Will Not Send Deputies to Support City

At least two suburban Chicago area sheriffs say they will send their deputies to help the Chicago Police Department only if city's officers are in distress or under duress.

They say they will not respond if Chicago is short-staffed because it has suspended officers in a dispute about a COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

Chicago has not asked for any help, the Daily Herald reports.

"ILEAS (the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System) typically responds to emergency situations where there is no opportunity for planning," Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain said Tuesday. "This situation to me is much different."

"It's like a preplanned police shortage," DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick said. "The lack of logic is the thing that astounds me."

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has said officers who don't obey the city's vaccination mandate for its workers can be suspended. The deadline to be vaccinated was Oct. 15. As of Monday, only 64% of police had reported their status. The head of the Fraternal Order of Police lodge representing city officers has told officers they don't have to obey the mandate. The union is suing the city.

Hain said he is also concerned about criminal liabilities his officers might face if they shoot someone, or are accused of using excessive force, in Chicago.

He said he fears the officers would be subject to a different standard of review by the Cook County state's attorney because the Chicago department is operating under a federal consent decree requiring reform of the department's abuses.