Police Officer Edward Watkins spent $585 on a study course and for three months, pored over the material two hours each day after work in an effort to score high enough on a department test to help earn his promotion to sergeant.
But on Monday, at his first day of three weeks of training for his new job, Watkins had no complaints about as many as 75 other trainees who were there because of a “merit” recommendation instead of a test score.
“What’s fair?” Watkins asked. “Some officer spends 20 years on patrol, he knows all the streets backwards, now that’s worth a million dollars. But if he can’t pass a test, it does him no good?”
The current class of 248 new sergeants is the first in which top department officials were able to recommend as many as 30 percent of the promotions to be based on merit and is also the first in which applicants were required to have the equivalent of two years of college as well as six years on the force. Previously, there was no college requirement, and only one year’s experience necessary to qualify for a sergeant’s promotion.
Officer Leo Schmitz, like Watkins, did not express any bitterness over merit promotions saying, “It’s actually a good idea because these guys are great sergeants, but are just no good at taking a silly test.”
But others among the sergeant trainees were skeptical about the fairness of that process, which was mandated by Police Supt. Terry Hillard and Mayor Richard Daley.
“I think a lot of people are skeptical that it’s just a ploy to put people in who don’t deserve it,” said Officer Charles Pusateri. “It almost seems like it’s out of the old school type of things they used to do,” he added, referring to the department’s reputation in earlier days of making promotions based on nepotism and patronage.
Daley has been pressing for merit promotions as a way to guarantee racial diversity among police supervisors. In the past, minorities have complained the written tests were biased against them, while many white officers have alleged they were passed over by minorities who scored lower in the tests.
Since the 1970s, virtually every police promotion exam has been challenged in court, and this one appeared to be set to fall into that pattern.
William Nolan, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, the union representing rank-and-file officers said the FOP will file a lawsuit on behalf of officers who were not promoted and felt discriminated against from this years sergeant’s exam.
“We’re sick and tired of the city’s disgusting promotions,” Nolan said. “It’s the clout of City Hall who’s deciding who gets promoted to sergeant, not those guys who are busting their butts studying to get the job.”
This year, 3,200 applicants first underwent one test covering department rules and regulations and a second dealing with scenarios specific to a sergeant’s duties and judgments. Of that group, 2,682 passed and became eligible for promotion based on their score or a merit recommendation.
Police officials said those selected for merit promotion, were named by supervisors.
