![]() “It is fortunate that even despite being fully vaccinated and boosted Mayor Lightfoot was still getting tested for Covid-19,” Kozlov wrote in his Jan. Kozlov asserted this only demonstrated his point, that a vaccine passport mandate, which does not even allow for the option of the unvaccinated to provide proof of a negative COVID test, provides little protection to anyone. As part of his filing, Kozlov noted Mayor Lightfoot herself had recently tested positive for COVID, even though she had been fully vaccinated and had received a third booster dose. Kozlov asked the judge to reconsider that decision on Jan. 3 denied Kozlov’s request for a temporary restraining order against the mandates. ![]() the restricted unvaccinated, who are effectively barred from much of society – violates constitutional rights to equal protection under the law, as well as due process.Įllis on Jan. ![]() He notes the city and county have each collected taxes from his purchase of those tickets, which he cannot now use, because of the vaccine passport mandate.įurther, he asserts the mandate constitutes an illegal “extraterritorial” law, extending the reach of Chicago and Cook County orders far beyond their boundaries, to impact the lives of people who live outside of Chicago and Cook County, yet travel into the city and county for various cultural, business or entertainment purposes.Īnd Kozlov argues the nature of the mandate itself, establishing two classes of people – the favored vaccinated, who are free to live their life as they please vs. In his lawsuit, Kozlov alleges the vaccine passport mandate illegally interferes with his contract rights, as it effectively bars him from attending Bulls basketball and Blackhawks hockey games for which he has already purchased tickets. Kozlov, who is unvaccinated against COVID, says he has recovered from a previous COVID infection, and has opted not to receive the COVID vaccines, at the advice of his doctor.īecause of the city’s vaccine passport mandate, Kozlov said he has been unable to enter the United Center, where he holds season tickets for both the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks. Lightfoot and the city announced the rule on Dec. The rule exempts retail stores and other shopping outlets, houses of worship, schools and various other kinds of facilities. The lawsuit challenges the authority of Lightfoot and the city to impose a rule requiring restaurants, theaters, sports arenas, health and fitness centers, and a host of other non-retail businesses in Chicago to demand all patrons over the age of 5 present proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 before being allowed to enter their facilities for more than 10 minutes. Kozlov, an attorney who practices law through the Law Office of Fedor Kozlov P.C., of Chicago, had filed suit in late December in Cook County Circuit Court against the city and Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Judge Ellis said she believed Arwady was using “emergency measures,” acting within the authority delegated to her under state law and Chicago city ordinances. Judge Ellis further rejected Kozlov’s argument that Arwady’s order is illegal, because it was never approved by either the state legislature or even the Chicago City Council. “And, as previously noted by the Court, the existence of a debate about the degree of immunity provided by vaccines does not demonstrate that (Arwady’s order) is arbitrary or irrational.” The mayor’s order, the judge said, “is rationally related to the City’s interest in slowing the spread of COVID-19, protecting the health of workers who interact with the public as a condition of their employment, and seeking to limit the burden on the healthcare system.” ![]() Ellis rejected a motion from attorney Fedor Kozlov to reconsider her earlier decision to deny Kozlov’s request for an injunction blocking the city from enforcing the vaccine passport orders issued by Allison Arwady, Chicago’s public health commissioner. A Chicago lawyer will take his fight against the city of Chicago’s vaccine passport mandate to a federal appeals court, after a federal judge again turned him away, this time explicitly declaring that the COVID vaccines’ seeming inability to prevent those who have been vaccinated from contracting COVID should have no bearing on whether the city can legally lock the unvaccinated out of restaurants, concerts, museums, sporting events and other indoor gathering spots.
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