Lightfoot defends police pension board towards criticism it unfairly denied cops with COVID full incapacity advantages

In dueling information conferences, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza clashed over whether or not town’s advantages for cops disabled by COVID-19 is truthful to cops.

At situation is a ruling by town pension board that denied Mendoza’s police officer brother, Sgt. Joaquin Mendoza, full incapacity advantages after he was contaminated with COVID-19 and was disabled. Susana Mendoza accused town of setting inconceivable requirements for cops to obtain advantages and criticized the mayor’s political appointees on a pension board for a choice giving him fewer advantages.

For her half, Lightfoot mentioned she takes police officer security critically however defended the board’s determination as having been issued by a board and affirmed by a court docket.

“It’s not for me to second-guess a choice that was rendered by a board,” Lightfoot mentioned.

Lightfoot additionally mentioned she doesn’t imagine the usual is just too excessive.

“Let’s work to repair what’s damaged, if it’s damaged, however the leveling of accusations on folks for following the legislation is solely pointless, unfair and false,” Lightfoot mentioned.

Only a week earlier than the municipal election through which Lightfoot is looking for a second time period, Mendoza sought in charge the mayor’s appointees on the Policemen’s Annuity and Profit Fund board for voting to disclaim responsibility advantages to her brother and one other officer. Mendoza claims that greater than a dozen different officers who contracted COVID-19 have incapacity circumstances “within the pipeline.”

“I do maintain the mayor accountable as a result of that’s her board,” Mendoza mentioned. “And so she will’t say with one face that you just assist the women and men in uniform, our first responders, after which do what they did to them.”

4 of the eight members of the police pension board are appointed by the mayor.

Mendoza mentioned Tuesday she’s looking for passage of state laws that will grant cops, firefighters and emergency medical technicians who survived COVID-19 the responsibility incapacity advantages.

Mendoza mentioned her brother contracted COVID-19 in 2020 whereas working 17 straight days on the job, in line with a information launch. Mendoza mentioned her brother spent 72 days within the hospital, suffered kidney failure, misplaced his capability to make use of his left arm and suffered 5 strokes.

Obligation incapacity offers 75% of the officer’s wage and free medical insurance. On unusual incapacity, an officer receives 50% compensation and should pay for medical insurance.

“You may think about my shock, disbelief and albeit, disgust when my brother’s declare for responsibility incapacity advantages was denied,” Mendoza mentioned.

Previous to the mayor’s personal information convention on the matter Tuesday, her workplace launched a press release denying her affect on the pension board vote, which occurred almost a 12 months in the past. The board voted 4-3, with three of the 4 “no” votes from Lightfoot appointees. The choice was later upheld in court docket after Joaquin Mendoza challenged it.

“The board has at all times acted independently and votes primarily based on the data introduced,” a Lightfoot spokesperson wrote. “The mayor just isn’t concerned in any pension board selections nor wouldn’t it have been moral or acceptable for her to contain herself in any such selections.”

The assertion additionally mentioned Lightfoot’s administration has urged the “pension boards seek the advice of outdoors medical consultants to advise the boards on COVID-related incapacity claims and be clear with claimants concerning the requirements that have to be met to have consideration for full or partial incapacity.”

The assertion additionally suggested first responders to get vaccinated towards COVID-19. Lightfoot’s vaccine mandate for metropolis employees was notably controversial within the Police Division and resulted within the metropolis and the native police union suing one another.

Susana Mendoza’s workplace responded that she is also a “sturdy advocate” for vaccines however that “just isn’t at situation right here” as a result of the officers in query had been contaminated earlier than vaccines had been out there.

Joaquin Mendoza’s former supervisor, Eric Winstrom, mentioned he was additionally pissed off by the choice to disclaim Mendoza responsibility incapacity.

“For those who’re saying we assist the police after which this occurs, it’s tough to reconcile that,” mentioned Winstrom, a former Chicago Police Division commander who’s now police chief in Grand Rapids, Michigan. “It doesn’t make sense. The pension board in my thoughts completely received it fallacious.”

Susana Mendoza was joined Tuesday by a number of aldermen, firefighters and cops. Amongst them was Officer Diana Cordova-Nestad, who spoke softly from a chair and had a tube working to her nostril, which she attributed to the issues she suffered from COVID-19.

“We don’t discover you match for responsibility, however we’re taking away your well being advantages,” Cordova-Nestad mentioned, recalling a gathering together with her supervisor. “It felt prefer it was simply ripped proper out of my chest. That’s all I knew was my work. That’s all I labored for.”

On deciding to talk out about this simply earlier than Election Day, Mendoza mentioned “the timing is dictated by the courts,” an obvious reference to a current court docket ruling towards her brother.

Mendoza mentioned she’s “not taking a place” on the mayor’s race. “This isn’t a problem of politics, that’s not why we’re right here as we speak. I’m right here particularly to shine a lightweight on an injustice that’s taking place in our metropolis.”

However the situation highlights an ongoing problem for the mayor as she campaigns for reelection: how a lot assist she provides to police.

Rising to prominence as a police reform advocate, Lightfoot has been criticized for not doing sufficient to assist officers. Her administration has confronted sturdy criticism for repeatedly canceling officers’ days off. Lightfoot initially defended the cancellations, telling reporters that cops get “an unimaginable quantity of” day without work earlier than introducing some scheduling insurance policies she mentioned would assist alleviate the problem.

Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.

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