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Poulos* loses big

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Illinois

* Remember this candidate?…

When he announced his candidacy for Cook County judge, Chicago Police Lt. John D. Poulos touted the opportunity to “continue my public service, which spans 23 years.”

It’s a career mired in controversy and allegations of dishonesty from the start, an Injustice Watch investigation shows.

An analysis of thousands of documents from internal police investigations, lawsuits, and county and federal court records reveals a man whose credibility was repeatedly called into question — and a police department’s repeated failures to discipline him.

Poulos’ tarnished track record includes two fatal shootings, omitting previous arrests on his application to become a police officer, inappropriate business dealings while he was on an extended leave of absence from the police department, and blocking undocumented domestic violence victims from applying for legal status.

Police officials tried to fire Poulos in 2017 but failed primarily because they took more than a decade to file the charges. […]

Last month, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias — whose office oversees the state’s 140,000 notaries — opened a misconduct investigation into Poulos after he notarized documents in a case in which he had a personal stake. If true, it would be a violation of the state’s Notary Public Act, which says notaries “shall not acknowledge any instrument in which the notary’s name appears as a party in the transaction.” […]

Poulos has the deepest war chest in the race, thanks to a $500,000 loan from his wife, Marjorie Schwartz Poulos, an executive at a Wisconsin-based consumer lender.

Poulos busted the contribution caps, but finished a distant fourth in a four-way race, scoring just 4.52 percent.

Money doesn’t always win.

Big hat tip to Injustice Watch, by the way. It not only published that expose on Poulos, it also published a well-researched list of judicial candidates with notations about those with significant past controversies. The rest of the news media could learn a very valuable lesson from them.

* Injustice Watch’s list of apparent winners…

• In the 3rd subcircuit, Lucy Vasquez-Gonzalez, a solo practitioner who focuses on family law.
• In the 7th, Judge Owens J. Shelby, an appointed Cook County judge who hears traffic cases, is on his way to defeating repeat candidate Deirdre Bauman.
• In the 10th, James V. Murphy, a former assistant Cook County state’s attorney.
• In the 14th, Griselda Vega Samuel, a lawyer for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, trounced repeat candidate Steve Demitro.
• In the 15th, Luciano “Lou” Panici Jr., a Chicago Heights lawyer and son of a Cook County associate judge.
• In the 19th, Bridget Colleen Duignan, a Beverly personal injury lawyer, defeated two opponents including former Oak Lawn Village President Dave Heilmann and Risa Renee Lanier, second-in-command to Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
• In the 20th, Nadine Jean Wichern, a lawyer for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, beat Nickolas Pappas, Michael J. Zink and John Poulos, a Chicago police officer with a career tarnished by controversy, allegations of dishonesty and two fatal shootings.

[* Poulos is not related to Local 150 honcho and Statehouse denizen Marc Poulos, by the way. I just wanted to have a little fun with him in the headline.]

posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 1:58 pm

Comments

Second in command to Kim Foxx. not such a great rep for a run.

Comment by Amalia Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 2:06 pm
The 11th Subcircuit has a nailbiter. Kim Przekota leads Audrey Victoria Cosgrove by 162 votes. They are running for Judge Paula Daleo’s vacancy, which she won in 2004 in a crazy election. He opponent Larry Andolino was ahead by 36 votes when all the votes were counted, but she filed a challenge in court alleging fraud and intimidation by Bill Banks’ 36th ward machine (who supported Andolino). Andolino decided to concede and let the Judge declare Daleo the victor rather than go through with the case

Comment by Celery Salt Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 2:07 pm
Congrats to former House staffer Bridget Colleen Duignan

Comment by Bentoh's Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 2:10 pm
I don’t think there is any group in Illinois government that has more power and receives less scrutiny than Cook County judges. Close to zero accountability. While Injustice Watch is hardly an unbiased observer, I’m thankful they’re shining a light on the judiciary, because the mainstream media just doesn’t.

Comment by Roman Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 2:14 pm
=== Second in command to Kim Foxx. not such a great rep for a run. ===

Not to mention the heart of her district was Chicago’s 19th Ward, which is filled with CPD officers. Voting for one of Kim Foxx’s top lieutenants is a tough sell in that district.

Comment by Hannibal Lecter Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 2:35 pm
Injustice Watch did a good job, not merely in their research, but also in making sure their info got out there. The physical copies were pretty well distributed in my neighborhood, and multiple newsletters to which I subscribe included links to their website.

Comment by JoanP Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 3:32 pm
==He was granted a merit promotion to sergeant in 2015 and became a lieutenant earlier this year.==

I would like to know the details regarding these promotions and I sure hope there are no future ones.

Comment by Big Dipper Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 3:46 pm
Injustice Watch does great work. Their judicial election guide is a particularly valuable public service.

Comment by Keyrock Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 5:02 pm
Injustice Watch skews hard left. Its profiles cannot be deemed neutral assessments. Its funding is from leftist foundations and others. Tends to send signals that former assistant states attorneys should not be put on the bench.

Comment by Observer1833 Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 5:23 pm
Observer, are there particular races that you think they got wrong or is that just a drive-by?

Comment by Big Dipper Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 5:45 pm
“Leftist”. Lol. Thanks Jan.

Comment by JS Mill Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 6:22 pm
===Tends to send signals===

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZMUNyLmarQ

Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 6:37 pm
Poulos represents a very good riddance.

Comment by Dotnonymous x Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 7:28 pm
@Big Dipper–here’s a link to the current merit promotional process. It has been improved a couple times since he slipped through in 2015. Still room for more improvement, of course.

https://directives.chicagopolice.org/#directive/public/6274

Comment by Leslie K Thursday, Mar 21, 24 @ 8:16 pm