John Poulos’s ascent through the ranks of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) has highlighted significant concerns around the department’s merit-based promotion system, raising questions over transparency and accountability.
Poulos’s employment history may have raised red flags had he been transparent about his past, particularly his expunged arrests. During his initial application to join CPD, he failed to disclose these arrests, later claiming to investigators that he believed the law didn’t require him to reveal expunged information.
Moreover, a misconduct investigation in the early 2000s could have led to his termination, but bureaucratic oversights allowed the case to languish for over a decade. Poulos was involved in two fatal shootings of Black men—Rickey Rozelle in 2013 and Kajuan Raye in 2016—and the city paid nearly $1 million in settlements concerning police misconduct lawsuits tied to these incidents.
Despite these significant issues, Poulos’s career continued to flourish, revealing flaws in the merit promotion system within the CPD. Records obtained in 2017 indicated that Poulos advanced to sergeant not by passing a standardized exam, a common pathway for police supervisors, but through the controversial merit promotion process. This system has long been criticized for lack of transparency and potential cronyism.
In light of severe criticisms from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding CPD misconduct and excessive force, then-police Superintendent Eddie Johnson took the unusual step of disclosing the identities of officers who received merit promotions since 2006, including their nominators. Johnson framed this action as a commitment to transparency to counteract allegations of secrecy surrounding the process.
Despite pledges for ongoing transparency, subsequent promotions, including Poulos’s ascent to lieutenant in 2024, occurred without public oversight. The city argued that releasing information about how officers were promoted infringed upon their privacy rights, a stance contested by public records and civil rights advocates.
Law Professor Craig Futterman from the University of Chicago remarked on the need for public accountability, stating, “The public has a legitimate interest in knowing which officers are promoted and how that process works.”
As efforts mount to uncover merit promotion records, the Invisible Institute has filed a lawsuit against the city for its refusal to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests pertaining to these promotions. Matt Topic, a partner at Loevy & Loevy representing the Invisible Institute, criticized the city’s handling of transparency concerning police accountability.
Within CPD, most officers aiming to rise through the ranks face notoriously challenging promotional exams—often infrequently offered and mired in scandals. However, a select few officers can take the merit route through nominations from higher-ups, a practice that has fostered accusations of favoritism and unaccountability.
The Merit Board, composed of several department officials, reviews the nominees, voting to recommend promotions to the superintendent, who retains decision-making authority. The merit system, initially established in the mid-1990s to enhance diversity within the department’s leadership, has often been perceived as a facilitator of cronyism rather than a system focused on merit and excellence.
Critics have noted that officers, regardless of background, perceive the merit system as a means of rewarding personal connections rather than professional qualifications. Complaints about its operational integrity date back decades, raising consistent concerns about its fairness and effectiveness.
Even with attempts to reform the system, it remains in place, with significant percentages of promotions allocated to the merit process. Critics have highlighted that the merit system undermines efforts to diversify leadership within CPD and emphasizes relationships over performance.
Poulos’s dubious history continued to unfold as he was eventually promoted amidst public outcry over police accountability issues, including the aftermath of the murder of Laquan McDonald. Critics were astounded that CPD would promote an officer involved in multiple fatal shootings during a period of intense scrutiny and reform efforts.
Following the shooting of Kajuan Raye, when concerns about Poulos rose again, the CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs revisited his previous disciplinary actions. In what became a pattern, delays allowed Poulos to continue on the force despite a recommendation for termination emerging sixteen years after he first misrepresented his record.
In 2018, following the dismissal of previous disciplinary challenges, Poulos found himself in a relatively cushioned position within the department, but the controversies surrounding his promotions and cases continued to haunt him. Remarkably, he even ran for a Cook County judgeship in 2024, but remained on the police force despite documented allegations casting doubt on his credibility.
Despite the DOJ’s recommendations and the criticisms voiced by various groups, the merit-based promotion structure persisted under new leadership through inconsistent policy changes. Current Superintendent Larry Snelling supports the merit process, advocating for its reinforcement.
These developments have intensified scrutiny on merit promotions. While anonymous sources provide some semblance of transparency, the official channels remain opaque. The consultant-led recommendation to evaluate the merit process is yet to be realized, as officials express readiness to consider change while failing to specify their intentions.
The ongoing battle over police promotions in Chicago underscores broader struggles over systemic transparency and accountability within law enforcement, a narrative that continues to evolve amidst public outcry and legal challenges.
As this complex situation unfolds, with city officials now emphasizing the need to potentially re-evaluate merit promotions, many are left questioning the future landscape of the Chicago Police Department and its commitment to fostering trust within the communities it serves.
The journey of Officer John Poulos stands as a poignant example of the challenges facing police accountability and the urgent need for comprehensive reform in management practices within the CPD.
image source from：injusticewatch
