Inspector finds no evidence of cheating on police lieutenants’ exam

The fiancee of Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson has been cleared of allegations that she conspired to cheat on a 2015 lieutenants’ exam, along with the wife of former First Deputy Supt. Al Wysinger with help from retired Deputy Supt. Eugene Williams.

After a monthslong investigation described as “extremely thorough,” Inspector General Joe Ferguson has concluded there was no evidence that Johnson’s fiancée, Lt. Nakia Fenner; Wysinger’s wife, Lt. Maryet Hall; and a third woman, Lt. Davina Ward, got an unfair advantage.

Williams was cleared of helping to rig the exam in their favor.

“They reviewed this 20 ways from Sunday. There was nothing there,” said a source familiar with the inspector general’s report.

“They interviewed witnesses. They looked scientifically as to whether there were any similarities in answers given among the different people because some of this stuff is subjective,” the source said. “It’s not just multiple choice. They brought in an expert on test taking. It was very thorough, which is why it took so long.”

Another source, who asked to remain anonymous, said Ferguson “found no evidence of wrongdoing” after interviewing vendors that drafted and administered the lieutenants’ exam. But the inspector general “did make recommendations on improving testing procedures,” the source said.

The inspector general’s office refused to comment. Johnson isn’t expected to respond until the IG’s findings are published in his next quarterly report. Williams doesn’t have a copy of the findings. Neither do any of the other targets.

Williams and the three women couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.

In a scathing report on the Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Justice Department discussed Ferguson’s investigation of Johnson’s fiancée and the others.

“The city’s inspector general is . . . currently investigating allegations that three recently-promoted lieutenants were coached by a high-ranking official who helped develop the August 2015 lieutenant’s exam,” the report said in a section devoted to CPD’s much-criticized promotion process.

“Although the investigation is ongoing, allegations of improper exam procedures make CPD officers doubt the fairness of the exam process. . . . In addition to litigation concerning the tests’ discriminatory impact, promotional exams also have been tainted with allegations of cheating and cronyism in the exam’s preparations or administration.”

The women were not mentioned by name in the DOJ report, but sources said the investigation was looking into allegations that Williams, a former finalist for police superintendent, improperly coached them.

Williams was in a unique position to assist the women because he was a subject matter expert who helped develop the exam and was the “final reviewer of potential exam content.” He has repeatedly refused to discuss the coaching allegations and has since retired.

The three women were among 26 sergeants promoted after doing well on the test. Hall scored a No. 1 ranking. Fenner finished 17th. Ward was No. 24.

The cheating allegations have been swirling since November 2014. That’s when an internal affairs investigator for the police department got an anonymous tip that Williams was holding weekly meetings at police headquarters to share “privileged” information with a clout-heavy study group.

When internal affairs dismissed the allegations and Williams was named as one of three finalists to replace fired police Supt. Garry McCarthy, the whistleblower took his cheating allegations to Ferguson and signed his name to the complaint, allowing the investigation to continue.

The whistleblower also sent an email to his colleagues alerting them to the cheating scandal.

“I hope you all take this as a warning to all those taking future examinations that the process is fixed, and as evidence to all officers and sergeants receiving the tainted group of new ‘lieutenants’ to watch your back, and finally, to hopefully shame whoever the new superintendent is to revamping the entire promotional process to bring integrity to it,” he wrote.

The cheating allegations surfaced shortly after Emanuel did an end-run around the Chicago Police Board and chose Johnson, who didn’t apply for the superintendent’s job.

It raised questions about how closely Johnson was vetted before he was chosen to replace McCarthy.

At the time, the mayor bristled at the allegations involving the fiancée of his hand-picked superintendent. Emanuel said then that he believed the cheating allegations were part of a “game” that used “innuendo” to “besmirch people’s character.”

In January, shortly after nearly collapsing at a news conference in a health scare unrelated to his need for a kidney transplant, Johnson asked Ferguson to investigate allegations that Fenner might have intervened to help her son following a traffic stop. That investigation is apparently ongoing.