Investigations

How an Ex-Police Officer Fired for Sexual Misconduct Slipped Through CPS Background Checks to Work at Lane Tech

How did a former Chicago police officer fired for sexual misconduct involving a minor and placed on a do-not-hire list end up working for Chicago Public Schools?

For Darius Alexander, now 41, persistence paid off after he was hired as a security guard following dozens of applications for employment with the district over seven years, according to records obtained by WTTW News.

Alexander’s hiring raises questions about whether any of his described work history clouding his past behavior while a police officer should have set off warning flags for CPS administrators — or whether improved interagency coordination between the school system and the city about do-not-hire lists might have prevented the former officer from being hired for a job where he had direct interaction with high schoolers.

Alexander was hired by the Chicago Police Department as an officer in 2006. He was eventually terminated due to his involvement in a 2012 case where he reportedly asked for sexual favors from a 17-year-old Crystal Lake girl after her friends were arrested and her mother’s car was impounded.

According to the police board case, Alexander saw her identification. She said to police board investigators that she also had told Alexander her age.

Following his ouster in 2019, Alexander was placed on the city’s do-not-hire list.

Despite his firing and that designation, Alexander was offered a permanent position at Roscoe Village’s Lane Technical High School in 2021, records show. 

It wasn’t until WTTW News began investigating Alexander’s background that school officials took a deeper look into his past, eventually resulting in his exit.

The school district scheduled a discharge hearing for Alexander in 2024 but he quit before the district reached a decision, and a do-not-hire designation was placed in his file for falsifying multiple employment records and concealing his former employment with CPD, records show.

“Alexander’s conduct came to the Board’s attention because of a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request,” according to files related to the investigation. That records request was sent by WTTW News. His CPS suspension was first reported by WTTW News in 2023.

Records show Alexander edited his past work history from the police department, disguising his background by claiming he was a city call center employee in some of the 26 applications he submitted. A memo detailing Alexander’s administrative hearing shows he was hired by CPS to work at two private events in 2017 after submitting applications that did not include his CPD employment.

CPD was the only city department to employ Alexander, records show.

CPS previously confirmed Alexander also worked as an assistant girls flag football coach at Lane Tech in 2023. He coached at practices and games in the presence of varsity coaches, according to a spokesperson. Alexander did not complete required training for a coaching role, records show.

Lane Technical College Prep High School in Chicago is pictured on June 16, 2025. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Records show Alexander received a stream of rejection notices from CPS before he was eventually hired for the job.

“Chicago Public Schools (CPS) remains committed to maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for all students and staff,” CPS wrote in a statement. “CPS conducts robust criminal background checks of all employee candidates as part of its hiring process.”

‘Abused His Office in Order to Take Advantage of a Vulnerable Young Woman’

The backgrounding process for CPS includes checks with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Illinois State Police, national and state sex offender registries, the Illinois State Police Murderer and Violent Offender Against Youth Registry and the Department of Children and Family Services State Automated Child Welfare Information System.

The district said it has actively worked to comply with Faith’s Law, two Illinois public acts meant to protect students from sexual misconduct in schools.

In 2023, CPS wrote in a statement that Alexander completed the district’s background check process in August 2021. CPS said it did not have access to the city’s do-not-hire records, which were obtained by WTTW News via a public-records request.

A CPS spokesperson said the district continues to review and strengthen interagency coordination to support transparent and comprehensive hiring practices.

CPS officials have not addressed why the district does not consult the city’s do-not-hire list as part of its backgrounding process. WTTW News sent CPS officials follow-up questions on Thursday, and as of Wednesday morning, they have not responded.

At a Chicago Committee on Ethics and Government Oversight hearing in March, Chicago Inspector General Deborah Witzburg highlighted the city policy for its do-not-hire list, which she said contains no reciprocity with sister agencies including CPS.

This might cause problems for the city, but the lack of sharing can cut both ways. Previous reporting by WTTW News found three former police officers, including Alexander, working for CPS since 2023 who had been barred from city employment.

All three were suspended by CPS with two banned from working for the district, records show.

Alexander submitted his first application to CPS about four years after his police misconduct investigation began but before his eventual termination by the police board, records show. He worked at Lane Tech, a selective enrollment school, for more than two years before he was suspended by CPS.

His police board termination followed a case where he asked about the sexual boundaries of a minor after her mother’s car was impounded in a drug case, records show. The police board unanimously found Alexander solicited sex from a minor, records show.

Alexander was not charged with a crime in relation to the incident.

The police disciplinary process has been criticized over the years for the length of time investigations in cases like those involving Alexander can last.

In the decision, the police board wrote that Alexander, “abused his office in order to take advantage of a vulnerable young woman.” The board also noted his effort to cover up his communication by text with the minor.

Alexander later admitted that despite what he told her, he had no intention of helping the girl get her car back, records show. The police board decision was affirmed by the circuit court and an Illinois appellate court.

Alexander did not respond to questions from WTTW News.

Service Employees International Union Local 73, the union that represents CPS security, said in the CPS hearing Alexander denied the allegations that led to his termination from CPD, and that no other issues, complaints or allegations were brought against him.

In the CPS hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings wrote that Alexander said he submitted resumes that would get him hired so he could provide for his family. Alexander said there was no ill intent on his part, according to the investigation.

Investigative files show the charges against Alexander included failure to cooperate with the board’s inspector general.

CPS confirmed it uses an automated reference checking platform that streamlines the reference verification process, but did not answer questions about exactly how CPS tracks changes, errors or omissions in applications.

Discipline Across the District

CPS headquarters. (Michael Izquierdo / WTTW News)

Records provided by CPS show at least 22 security guards were terminated or resigned while under a disciplinary investigation over the past two school years.

The district produced data and records in response to two requests about security employees over more than a year. The response includes cases where discipline was issued during the past three school years including the current term, though only a small number of cases from the current school year had investigations that were complete at the time of response.

Since 2023, 15 CPS high schools have disciplined multiple security guards. John F. Kennedy, Harlan, Simeon and Wells Community Academy high schools had the highest number of suspensions, records show.

There were about 100 security employees disciplined by CPS over the past two years for reasons that ran the gamut from sexual misconduct or physical assault to attendance problems, residency issues or inappropriate language.

Discipline ranges from a warning to suspension or termination.

About two of five cases with a disciplinary outcome concluded with a written reprimand, records show. Many allegations did not result in discipline for security guards. Some saw discipline reduced from an initial suspension.

One investigation of a social media post appearing to show a security guard with guns and drugs instead revealed a creative side hustle. The elementary school guard sometimes moonlights as a battle rapper, and performed the role of an armed guard for a drug dealer in an online video series that became the social media footage.

The guard was reinstated with back pay following the initial 45-day suspension. Part of the suspension stuck because the job was not officially reported, records show. The current employee contract for security officers limits unpaid suspensions to 20 days.

In all, 36 guards were suspended for more than 140 total days over the past two school years, records show.

At least six cases included an allegation of criminal conduct, records show. Records identified allegations including sexual assault, drug use on the job, filing a false police report and child abuse in these cases.

Three guards lost their jobs following sexual misconduct investigations, with two coming in the past school year, records show.

The school board has approved paying more than $4.3 million in sexual misconduct settlements involving all employees, including security guards, since January 2022, records show.

CPS reported discipline in 22 cases involving allegations of physical violence, with at least 10 cases alleging improper restraint involving security personnel.

The district said it is currently developing a formal use-of-force policy for its security personnel per a contractual requirement.

CPS security guards commonly work as coaches. Both categories registered significant numbers of sexual misconduct allegations over the past two school years as far as the number of complaints, according to a September presentation by the Sexual Allegations Unit to the Chicago Board of Education. Sexual allegations for both job categories rose slightly in the 2023/2024 school year.

Records provided by CPS show some investigations taking a year or more to complete. One case remained open for more than five years as of January, records show.

CPS said it follows strict protocols to ensure that all disciplinary cases, particularly those involving serious or criminal allegations, are handled with diligence, fairness and due process.

“These investigations can be very long, and that can be frustrating,” according to a source from SEIU Local 73.

The source said security staffing is not a problem across the district, but there are serious issues at some schools. Those issues could be further impacted by budget considerations.

School security has undergone a transformation in recent years with many local school councils debating whether police officers should be in schools.

During the debate period, some parents supported their presence because they believed police improved security, while others said their presence harmed students.

Last year, the board unanimously approved a new school safety plan, which ended the use of sworn police officers, known as school resource officers, inside district buildings while moving to holistic discipline and safety strategies.

CPS said it supports a long-term vision centered on proactive, student-centered safety measures that reduce reliance on law enforcement and invest in the social and emotional well-being of students.

Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | [email protected]

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