The former Chicago Police Department sergeant who was fired for leading the botched raid that left Anjanette Young handcuffed while naked inside her home is now a detective in north suburban Niles, even after an appellate court upheld his termination, records show.
Illinois’ First District Appellate Court ruled Sept. 8 that a Cook County judge properly upheld the Chicago Police Board’s June 2023 decision to terminate former Sgt. Alex Wolinski for his conduct in 2019, when he led a team of 12 officers into Young’s apartment looking for a man who did not live there. Wolinkski can still appeal that ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court.
Wolinski was hired by Niles about six months after the decision by the Chicago Police Board, which detailed multiple departmental rule violations. The city also settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over the raid.
However, last month’s ruling will not prompt leaders of the Niles Police Department to reconsider their decision to hire him as a police officer in October 2023 and then transfer him to the detective bureau in June of this year.
Detectives conduct adult and juvenile criminal investigations, interview witnesses, identify suspects and share intelligence with police units and outside agencies.
Wolinski did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News. His salary is more than $119,000, according to records from Niles.
Records obtained by WTTW News reveal what Wolinski disclosed to the village before he was sworn in.
In his application for the Niles job, Wolinski wrote that he was separated from CPD, though the reason for his dismissal was not detailed.
Wolinski included two employees of the Chicago Police Department in his application as references. Both were identified as personal friends, and listed a home phone number and the address of Chicago Public Safety Headquarters, records show.
The two men were among a litany of officers identified in an excessive force case where police were accused of using pepper spray and a Taser on a group of people celebrating the election of President Barack Obama in 2008. The case, which accused many of the officers of failing to intervene in the incident, was settled by Chicago for $395,000 in 2017, records show.
At the Niles village board meeting in January 2024, members of the board and police department posed with Wolinski after he took his ceremonial oath of office.
Wolinski left a police job in Niles before starting with CPD in 2002, records show, making this his second stint with the department.
Comments on a 2023 Instagram post by the department announcing Wolinski’s hire were largely critical, including, “Alex should definitely never be in this field again after what happened” and “He should be hiding under a rock, not grinning with a new badge.”
During the raid, Wolinski “failed to allow a handcuffed Ms. Young to get dressed for 10 minutes despite her requests and the requests of some of his officers,” according to the ruling by Cook County Judge David Atkins upholding his firing by the Police Board. “She was not shown or read the search warrant for approximately 20 minutes.”
The Police Board found Wolinski guilty of more than a half-dozen rule violations — including law violations, disobedience of an order, inattention to duty and “disrespect to or maltreatment of any person” — which it deemed “extremely serious.”
Chicago agreed to pay $2.9 million in 2021 to resolve a lawsuit following the raid.
Young, who is now a member of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, called the decision by Niles officials to stand by Wolinski’s hiring and later shift to detective “very disappointing and disheartening.”
“They knew he had this misconduct on his record and hired him anyway,” Young said. “Reform means nothing if another department will just hire them anyway.”
Niles Mayor George Alpogianis, Police Chief Joseph Romano and Deputy Village Manager Katie DiMaria Schneider declined to answer questions about how the village’s backgrounding process worked for Wolinski.
Records show Wolinski authorized Niles to perform a background check before he was hired. He was also required to complete a psychological examination, pass a drug screening and provide a driver’s license and firearm owners identification.
A spokesperson said Niles officials would not comment on individual hiring decisions.
“Since joining the Niles Police Department, Officer Wolinski has received numerous commendations and remains in good standing with the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board,” the spokesperson responded in an email.
The spokesperson said Wolinski has had no accusations of misconduct with the department.
Young, who will now help pick the next CPD superintendent as part of the police oversight board, said the fact that Wolinski is still allowed to work as a police officer shows her the yearslong push to reform policing in Illinois has yet to translate into lasting change.
“I do worry about the people of Niles who might call for help,” Young said. “This is someone who should no longer have a gun or a badge.”
WTTW News investigative coverage is supported in part by The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation. WTTW News coverage of policing and police reform is supported by The Joyce Foundation.
Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | jrutecki@wttw.com
Contact Heather Cherone: @HeatherCherone | (773) 569-1863 | hcherone@wttw.com
