Ex-CPS employee steals info on 80,000 people, schools say

A former Chicago Public Schools employee was in police custody after officials said the worker stole personal information on about 80,000 workers, volunteers and vendors from a CPS database.

In a letter sent to employees Thursday evening, CPS Chief Operating Officer Arnie Rivera said the school district learned of the massive data breach on Wednesday, the day after the information was stolen.

Among the stolen data were names, employee ID numbers, phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, criminal arrest histories and DCFS findings. Social Security numbers were not taken, Rivera said.

The former employee suspected in the breach is an ex-contractor who handled administrative tasks for the Office of Safety and Security. The suspect was arrested on Thursday, and the information has been recovered, the letter said.

“There was no indication that the information, which was in the individual’s possession for approximately 24 hours, was used or disseminated to anyone in any way,” Rivera added.

A CPS spokesman referred questions about possible criminal charges to Chicago police, but Rivera said “CPS will work to ensure the individual is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed one person was in custody for questioning but declined to give further details.