In the city that works

Testing fiasco forces Chicago Fire Department to cancel oral exams for lieutenant and battalion chief

By Fran Spielman  Jan 29, 2020, 2:01pm CST

Chicago’s police and fire exams have been plagued for decades by a series of testing problems and bias claims that have triggered a seemingly endless string of lawsuits.

Now, there’s another chapter to add to that sorry saga.

Hundreds of candidates who had studied for months in hopes of being promoted to lieutenant and battalion chief were sent home from McCormick Place this week after a widespread computer failure
made it impossible to continue oral exams for both positions.

California-based CPS HR Consulting was paid $1.4 million to administer the oral exam to roughly 1,600 firefighters vying to become lieutenants and more than 117 candidates for battalion chief.

It was the first lieutenant exam in eight years, and the first for battalion chief in two years.

The cost of a re-test, when there is one, will be absorbed by the vendor, City Hall sources said. It was not clear if the contractor would also be required to cover costs associated with having firefighters fill in for the test-takers.

During oral exams, candidates sit in front of computer terminals wearing noise-cancelling headphones. After viewing video-scenarios of fire scenes, hazardous materials incidents, terrorist attacks and other emergency scenes, they are required to answer questions about what actions they would take and what orders they would deliver.

Their verbal answers are recorded and scored later. Security is so tight, candidates are sequestered in one building at McCormick Place before riding buses to another building to take the test.

On Monday, some of the computers started to fail, delaying some of the 700 would-be lieutenants for hours.


On Tuesday, the problems escalated. Computers linked to the company’s network “started freezing up and failing” while candidates were taking the exam.

When the failures “cascaded,” as one source put it, hundreds of angry candidates were sent home.

Alarmed by the Monday problems that forced some candidates to complete the one-hour test “around midnight,” Fire Commissioner Richard Ford II went to McCormick Place on Tuesday to see for himself how day two was going.

When Ford was told the problems had only gotten worse, he pulled the plug and was booed when he announced the cancellation, according to the testing company.

“People were sitting around [Monday] waiting for computers to be repaired. He didn’t want members to go through that again. At his urging and in consultation with vendors, they decided to send people home,” said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.

In a follow-up email, Langford said the Chicago Fire Department “expects nothing less than a seamless administration” of its entry-level and promotional exams.

“Which is why we require vendors to ensure their equipment is vigorously tested to prevent technological issues and any undue burden caused to firefighters devoting their time to participate and those who cover their shifts,” Langford was quoted as saying.

“The city is working diligently with the vendor to remediate any issues with the testing systems and to resume the exams as quickly as possible.”

Geralyn Gorshing, director of marketing for Sacramento-based CPS HR Consulting, acknowledged Ford was booed for a “computer glitch” that the company is struggling to explain and working hard to remedy.

“It was a computer glitch. The computers just malfunctioned and we’re trying to understand what happened. At this moment in time, I don’t have an answer,” Gorshing said.

“We’ve been working successfully with the city of Chicago for many years and this is the first time we’ve ever had any type of computer glitch.”

Gorshing apologized to the firefighters who studied hard for nothing and to Chicago taxpayers, who picked up the tab for the firefighters who covered shifts for the test takers.

“We understand the inconvenience that this has caused. ... We do understand the amount of time and effort that goes into preparing for these exams. We understand their frustration … We will ensure that they have a good experience when we re-schedule the exams,” she said.

Jim Tracy, president of the Chicago Firefighters Union Local 2, addressed the testing fiasco in a post on the union’s website.

“I am sorry to all members who were disrespected by the testing company and those who selected their incompetent services,” Tracy wrote.

Local 2’s executive board is meeting with the city on Thursday to discuss a new contract and “this failure” will be on the table, Tracy said.

“We were able to stop the testing company from going any further, but more needs to be done...Local 2 will ensure the city recognizes the harm this testing company has caused,” he wrote.