Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been accused of denying full disability benefits to Chicago police officers who have been severely affected by COVID-19.Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday signed a law providing full disability benefits to Chicago police officers and firefighters struck by COVID-19 before vaccines were available, presiding over an emotional statehouse ceremony which marked the end of a financial struggle for responders including the brother of Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
"Our first responders were key to our national response, transporting infected patients to hospitals, disbursing masks and testing kits or providing care to those in distress...," Pritzker said. "But even with social distancing, masks and mitigations in place, many of our first responders became infected with COVID-19."
He moved in with his sister and her family and since then, he's had five strokes and lost both kidneys, requiring thrice-weekly dialysis. But the Policeman's Annuity and Benefit Fund of Chicago denied his claim for full disability because there was no proof that he contracted the virus on the job. The board also denied Officer Diana Cordova-Nestad.