The Chicago Police Department’s reform chief tendered her resignation this week, saying she’s stepping down “due to retaliation” and citing the state’s whistleblower law.
Tina Skahill’s planned exit comes just months after the ouster of her predecessor Robert Boik, who was fired last August after criticizing former police Supt. David Brown’s decision to move nearly 50 officers under his command to the Bureau of Patrol.
Skahill submitted paperwork announcing her resignation Monday and saying she plans to retire June 17, according to a document obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times. It does not detail the retaliation or say why she cited the law.
“The reporting member submits this resignation due to retaliation as defined per Chicago Police Department directives, the Chicago Municipal Code and the Illinois Whistleblower Act,” according to the document.
A licensed attorney, Skahill has worked for the department for more than three decades. She didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Skahill became an influential adviser to Brown before replacing Boik as the executive director of constitutional policing and reform, a position charged with implementing sweeping departmental changes mandated by a federal consent decree spurred by the police killing of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald in 2014.
Earlier this month, the Sun-Times reported that acting Supt. Fred Waller had ordered Skahill to end the department’s relationship with a Texas firm that has been paid at least $1.3 million to train officers. The firm, Professional Law Enforcement Training, is led by Byron Boston, who served in the Dallas Police Department with Brown.
“I have been made aware of CPD’s training agreement with PLET and the significant cost associated with it,” Waller wrote in an email to Skahill on May 19. “Today, please send a letter to PLET notifying them that CPD will no longer need their services as of June 1, 2023.”
A spokesperson for the department previously acknowledged that officials heeded the directive.
On Thursday, department officials didn’t answer questions about Skahill’s resignation, her accusation of retaliation or whether there was fallout from the email.
“We thank Executive Director Skahill for her years of dedicated service to the department and the people of Chicago,” a spokesperson said in a written statement.
A spokeswoman for Maggie Hickey, the federally appointed monitor overseeing compliance with the consent decree, declined to comment.
Jason Lee, a senior adviser to Mayor Brandon Johnson, said the police department has launched an internal investigation into Skahill’s retaliation claim, which he noted “includes a violation of the state’s whistleblower law.”
But Lee said he’s confident the department won’t miss a beat trudging forward on the arduous road to reform.
“My understanding is there’s a plan to continue at the same pace based on personnel who are in place,” he said. “The Chicago Police Department is going make an announcement very soon on filling that position and continuing the constitutional policing work.”
Getting out from under the consent decree and restoring the shattered trust between citizens and police have been cornerstones of Johnson’s anti-violence strategy. On the campaign trail, he was critical of the snail’s pace at which the city was moving toward full compliance with the court order.
“We have to do it the right way, not just speeding it up for the sake of speeding it up,” Lee said. “We have to do it right. We have to do it expeditiously and we have to do it effectively. This is a high priority.”
Under Brown, the department’s reform efforts were stifled by staffing problems and policy missteps. In March 2022, city officials were given an additional three years to comply with the court order, extending a process that could cost up to $100 million to a total of eight years.
Skahill has told colleagues she was applying for the superintendent job, sources said. Her departure and claim of retaliation add a layer of intrigue to the process.
The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability will soon present Johnson with three candidates to lead the department under the new administration.
As a sworn officer, Skahill rose to the rank of chief in both the Bureau of Internal Affairs and the Special Functions Section. After initially retiring in 2013, she returned and held high-ranking civilian roles under former Supt. Eddie Johnson and then Brown, an outsider who struggled in Chicago and relied on Skahill’s institutional knowledge.
