Top cop identifies ‘ nominators’ of promoted sergeants
Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson has promoted 142 sergeants — 40 of them on the basis of merit — and followed through on his promise to identify the people who nominated them.
Fraternal Order of Police President Dean Angelo was not particularly impressed. To him, it was same old, same old.
“We saw a couple of individuals on there who were injured in the line of duty. That, we were glad to see. But we also saw some of the old, promote your secretary. Guys have been talking about this guy having worked for that boss,” Angelo said.
“In New York, officers who have been shot are given their detective shield while they’re in the hospital. When they recover, they’re a detective. That’s what should be automatic here. You made the ultimate sacrifice. Now, we’re gonna put you to work.”
Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi defended the merit promotions by 36 different police “nominators.”
Commanders James Sanchez and Sean Loughran were the only police brass to nominate more than one officer for merit promotions to the rank of sergeant; each nominated two. The other 36 merit sergeants all had different sponsors.
“Reforms start with good leadership and good leadership starts with good people. These transparently shared promotions are the latest in the Department’s ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership across ranks,” Guglielmi wrote in an email to the Chicago Sun- Times.
Guglielmi noted that candidates for merit promotion went through a “rigorous interview process by a board of deputy chiefs.” The final list was presented to Johnson.
“These candidates were among the most qualified from the interviews,” Guglielmi wrote.
“We understand that no matter how rigorous the process is for promotions, there will always be differing opinions over the results. [ But], because of the reforms we made, those conversations are no longer left to whispers around headquarters. We will now publish all merit promotions for everyone to see and police administrations moving forward will have to stand behind the decisions made.”
The Chicago Sun- Times reported last month that Johnson was shining the light on a meritpromotion process condemned by officers interviewed by the U. S. Department of Justice as a “reward for cronyism” and clout.
Johnson ordered a return to a reform imposed, then rescinded, a few years ago: identifying the “nominators” of each officer promoted on the basis of merit.
In its scathing indictment of the Chicago Police Department, the Justice Department said the “lack of transparency” surrounding the process of nominating and qualifying for merit promotions was “one of the major complaints from officers” interviewed.
Since the early 1990s, the city has used merit promotions, presumably to bolster the number of minorities in supervisory ranks.
“This has led many officers to believe that merit promotions are a reward for cronyism rather than a recognition of excellence that was overlooked by the testing process,” the report states.