Published 8 hours ago
BLUE ISLAND, Ill. - Blue Island Mayor Domingo Vargas shut down the city’s police department Sunday for reports that a member of the department tested positive for coronavirus, according to the south suburb’s state representative.
“I have since learned that Mayor Domingo Vargas made a unilateral decision at 1 a.m. Sunday (today) to suspend all police department activities,” Il. Rep Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, said in a statement. “At no point did the Mayor’s office contact my office, any member of the City Council or any other local leaders in making this rash decision.”
In an email to aldermen, Marisol Barrera, the mayor’s assistant, said “several people have reached out and expressed concerns about having identified an employee who tested positive for COVID-19. Please understand that we are doing our best to keep you informed about the situation and in the mean time, we are obligated to maintain confidentiality in said situation.”
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The Cook County Sheriff’s Department and Illinois State Police are conducting patrols in Blue Island until the local police are reactivated.
“While this is not a long-term solution, please be assured that there are County and State police available should residents need their help,” Rita said, adding that residents should still call 911 in case of an emergency.
“In the event that a first responder falls ill with COVID-19 or any other illness, there are state-mandated protocols in place to protect both the employee and any others coming in contact with that person…,” Rita said. “Based on current information, these vital protocols were not followed by Mayor Vargas when making his decision.”
Neither Vargas or Barrera responded to requests for comment.
With all the bars closed, you barely need the cops out there at night anyway. They are already up & running. Bob Rita needs to realize he is not the mayor there, he's just another political plant of the Chicago Outfit doing there bidding. The Mayor keeping this under wraps gave them the time to get a handle on it and identify what need to be cleaned or put out of service & gave him the time to contact whomever was in contact with the officer. Besides he notified Cook County sheriffs. This is much ado about nothing and in my opinion Garza did the right thing
ReplyDeletesouthside tony...You really are a moron...Thank You Mr. Rita for taking the initiative and keeping us safe. It appears the Mayor acted out of shear fear. There is no reason to do what he did.
DeleteSo what now Murph, I'm not allowed to defend myself when someone calls me a moron? You really should get an outside platform like DISQUS to run your comments. because you sure don't practice what you preach
DeleteCommunity standards.....of course you can defend yourself but without the vulgarity.
DeleteI have never used vulgarity on this site
DeleteMr Rita seems think quite highly of himself. He's not the mayor but in my opinion he has an exaggerated sense of self importance. It appears the right decision was made out of an abundance of caution. Btw Tony, burglars prowl the streets after dark.
DeleteThere was a time when blue island had a bunch of part time, reserve and auxiliary officers, but the FOP and IPA pretty much eliminated those types of officers through legislation. Now the best communities can mobilize in an emergency is firefighters and officers from the state and county. Yes we have the best politicians money can buy and the FOP bought them on this.
ReplyDeleteCall the Illinois Police Reserves lol!
DeleteIsn't the IPA illegal??? I mean, they are not real and have ZERO police authority.
DeleteI think the mayor pooped his pants on this one
ReplyDeleteMayor Poopy Pants
ReplyDeleteNow if only Denny McGee was the mayor of Blue Island, then we'd see some real leadership
ReplyDeleteI just saw a caravan of yutes (youths) proceeding southbound on Western from 115th street. Wonder why?
ReplyDelete