Chicago police union vows court fight after mayor rejects demand for 12 weeks of paid parental leave

Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7 members and their supporters protest COVID-19 vaccination mandates outside City Hall in 2021. The union has vowed to sue the city of Chicago to get Chicago police officers the same parental leave as Chicago Public Schools employees. (Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times)

The Fraternal Order of Police is vowing to go to court to force Mayor Brandon Johnson’s hand after the mayor rejected the union’s demand for the same 12 weeks of paid parental leave that Johnson granted to Chicago teachers and other CPS employees.

In a YouTube video posted late Friday, FOP President John Catanzara lambasted Johnson for establishing one standard of benefits for the mayor’s former union and another, lesser standard for the union representing rank-and-file Chicago Police Department officers.