Before resigning as the Chicago Police Department’s reform chief, Tina Skahill wrote an email alleging acting Supt. Fred Waller sought to demote her and stymie her chances of replacing him after she headed an internal investigation that led to his suspension for a month.
Skahill tendered her resignation on May 29, writing that she was stepping down “due to retaliation.” Details of her allegation remained unknown until now.
Many of Skahill’s key claims relate to Waller ordering her to nix the department’s costly training agreement with a Texas firm that has close ties to former Supt. David Brown, whom Skahill had directly reported to.
The email, sent May 25 and titled “Hostile and Retaliatory Actions,” begins by noting she oversaw an investigation into an offensive comment Waller made during a meeting in 2019, when she was the deputy director of the Bureau of Internal Affairs.
“Grope me, don’t rape me,” Waller, chief of operations at the time, said while complaining about officers being moved out of police districts to other units.
In the email, obtained through a public records request, Skahill claimed Waller made “frequent comments” about the 28-day suspension that was ultimately handed down.
She reported that Waller eventually told her on May 19 that she was being demoted from her position as deputy superintendent, a title held by the executive director of constitutional policing and reform.
Skahill rose to the rank of chief but most recently worked in a civilian capacity. Waller wanted to tap a sworn department member to replace her as the third-highest ranking police official, she said.
Skahill wrote that she called Waller and offered to resign, but he told her to wait until her replacement returned from furlough.
Waller wrote to Skahill that same day and told her to end the department’s relationship with Professional Law Enforcement Training by June 1, citing the “significant cost,” according to an email obtained through a public records request.
PLET has collected at least $3.1 million for providing training services since April 2022, more than $2 million of which was paid out on June 23, city records show.
That doesn’t include other payments to PLET using forfeiture proceeds, which include money and other assets seized in criminal investigations and pooled in a department fund with little oversight. Requests seeking records of that spending are past due.
The city’s relationship with PLET apparently began under Brown, who previously served as the police chief in Dallas. At least five PLET employees worked with him there, including the company owner Byron Boston.
Skahill signed an addendum to the agreement with PLET in November 2022, showing her close involvement in the deal.
Skahill didn’t respond to a request for comment. The police department declined to comment.
Skahill claimed Waller’s email was “crafted to falsely appear that someone else informed him of PLET costs when I recommended cancelling the night before and he approved cancellation.”
She also alleged Waller’s email was improperly disclosed to the Sun-Times by Waller or an accomplice in an effort to “discredit and impact” her most recent failed attempt to become police superintendent.
She claimed her role was significantly diminished, saying she wasn’t invited to a meeting of high-ranking police officials and Waller stopped acknowledging her emails after she lodged a formal complaint.
Details of that complaint weren’t immediately known. A request seeking those records is also past due.
Skahill noted that Internal Affairs Chief Yolanda Talley informed Waller and First Deputy Supt. William Bradley that Skahill had alerted the Office of the Inspector General after she attended the supervisors meeting without receiving an invitation.
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
Skahill’s email leaves more questions than answers and also implicates her predecessor, Robert Boik, who was fired last August after criticizing deep staffing cuts to the office and raising concerns about meeting training requirements outlined in a federal consent decree mandating sweeping reforms.
She claimed Boik and Waller engaged in a “conspiracy” — without providing details. Boik declined comment.
