The Chicago Police Department is the thin blue line between utter anarchy and some semblance of civilization in Chicago.

The CPD rank and file officers do tremendous work almost despite dysfunctional, and at times incompetent leadership.

Here’s a photo from the swearing in ceremony for the new police Superintendent Eddie Johnson from ABC7 in Chicago.

Eddie Johnson’s inability to discern right from left is indicative of the leadership he’s providing.

Let’s start with the promotional scandal that has rocked the department.  It would seem that three females are sleeping their way to the top of the ranks, thanks to their relationships with top police brass.

There’s the Superintendent’s fiancee, and another woman married to the former First Deputy Police Superintendent.

From DNA Info:

NAVY PIER — Mayor Rahm Emanuel and new interim Supt. Eddie Johnson Friday promoted three police sergeants who are named in an investigation into alleged cheating on the department’s lieutenant’s exam.

Three of the 36 lieutenants officially promoted Friday — Lt. Nakia Fenner, Lt. Maryet Hall and Lt. Davina Ward — were named in an anonymous complaint made to the department’s Internal Affairs Division that accused Deputy Chief Eugene Williams of sharing “information that was privileged” about the exam to sergeants in a study group, according to a confidential police Internal Affairs report obtained by DNAinfo.

Williams is a “subject matter expert” who helped create the exam, documents obtained by DNAinfo Chicago show.

Williams’ study group included Fenner, who is engaged to Johnson, as well Hall, who is married to former First Deputy Police Supt. Al Wysinger, who retired last year, and Ward, multiple sources told DNAinfo Chicago.

A comment at GunsSaveLife.com’s story about a new batch of Chicago Police officers sheds even more disturbing light on the topic:

The black female prominently displayed in the picture was one of the recipients of the answers to the promotional test she took. Her boyfriend was a subject matter expert and had the complete test available. She was unable to score high enough to be promoted to sergeant by score, but was promoted by what they call merit. Known as clout or racial promotion, in her case it was both. The other prominent thing to look at is the award ribbons on her uniform, the people around her have them. She, in her entire career never did anything to deserve even one award. That would be a house mouse who never spent any time on the street being a cop. But because she has a relationship with another high ranking member of CPD, who also never passed a single promotional test, she is being promoted. If you wonder why Chicago is bathing in blood, its because our leaders are made this way.

That female in the photo would be the Superintendent’s girlfriend/fiancee, now Lt. Nakia Fenner.

So, we’ve got a new Chicago Police Superintendent who allegedly has never passed a promotional exam in his entire career running the department, but has instead risen through the ranks through so-called “merit” promotions.  Given the lack of meritorious service ribbons on Miss Fenner’s uniform, people have to wonder if Miss Fenner got her promotions through meritorious service in extracurricular activities.   If she did indeed have access to the questions on the promotional exams and still failed them, that would not speak well for her intellect – or her leadership skills or abilities.

How many others have gotten their promotions through “merit” instead of performance at the workplace and on promotional exams?

Fewer and fewer cops.

Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel made a big deal of swearing in of 97 new officers to patrol the streets barely two weeks ago.  He claimed those 97 new officers were going to make all the difference in stemming Chicago’s violence.  In the same event, 88 new sergeants were promoted from the ranks of street cops, meaning exactly 9 new officers would be patrolling the streets.  It’s all smoke and mirrors with the media and the low-information voters in Chicago.  Rahm can’t dazzle anyone with excellence, so he tries to baffle them with bull feces.

The former ballerina mayor made no mention of the 2,575 cops who have retired since he took office in 2011, although he’s quick to point out almost 1600 new hires.  How man of those new hires have washed out is not revealed.

Through some legwork by Fran Spielman at the Sun-Times, the Chicago Police Department is easily 975 cops below the authorized strength of 12,538 – if all 1600 of the new hires since 2011 have remained in the ranks.

More likely though, the retirements and officers leaving the Chicago Police Department have outstripped new hires by a 2:1 margin, meaning with each passing day, there are fewer and fewer Chicago Police Officers patrolling the violent streets of Chicago.