Brown v. County of Cook, No. 11-1953 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this Case
A sergeant, passed over for promotion to lieutenant, filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that he was passed over because he is a Republican and did not contribute to the then-sheriff's campaign fund. The district judge granted summary judgment for the defendants. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that, as a group heavier contributors to the campaign were treated worse and that plaintiff was not asked to contribute and did not allege that he was told he had to contribute money if he wanted to be promoted. Plaintiff's visible involvement with the Republican party was minimal and there was significant evidence that the sheriff did not know plaintiff or his political affiliation.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.