A civil suit that alleged Hoffman Estates discriminates against women and African-Americans when granting promotions in the Police Department has been dismissed.
Florene Powell, the only black police officer on the force, filed suit in April 1997, claiming that former Police Chief Donald Cundiff had conspired to erase her answers on a written exam to keep her from being promoted to sergeant. Powell, who failed the exam in November 1996, sought unspecified damages.
Richard Williams, an attorney for Hoffman Estates, said that after Powell failed the exam, she checked her answers at the company in South Holland that administered the exam. While there, Powell allegedly noticed four of her answers had been changed.
Williams argued that two answers had been changed correctly, while the other two were changed incorrectly.
U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning recently dismissed the case after Powell and her attorney opted against defending the village’s argument that there was no evidence to support their claim.
Powell could not be reached for comment.