It was reported on Thursday that former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett intends to plead guilty to charges that she took bribes while steering up to $23 million in no-bid contracts to a consulting firm she worked for prior to taking over as head of the CPS.
Administrators of the Chicago Public Schools were forced to lower the last four years’ graduation rates after admitting they inflated the passing rates and fudged the number of dropouts. The schools’ Inspector General had raised the alarm over the falsified stats early this year, but the district took no action until October. That was five months after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won re-election, in part, because he used the false statistics as a campaign issue.
As the Chicago Public School District’s budget continues to crash, officials have announced the next round of layoffs, with over 450 employees getting the axe in schools across the city.
