CHARGES COME AT ROCKY TIME FOR CPS
“I THINK WHEN PEOPLE SERVE THE PUBLIC, THEY SHOULD UPHOLD THE TRUST THAT THE PUBLIC PUTS IN THEM, AND AT LEAST BASED ON THE DETAILS AROUND THE CHARGES, THAT WASN’T THE CASE HERE.” MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL
The indictment of former CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett could not come at amore difficult time for Chicago Public Schools.
It threatens to damage the credibility sorely needed to get $480 million in pension help from Springfield— help that is key to averting a devastating round of mid-year budget cuts that, CPS CEO Forrest Claypool has warned, could cost thousands of teachers their jobs and send class sizes soaring.
“There’s a reputation about Chicago anyway. If you’re a downstater or a suburban legislator who hates Chicago, this confirms why you don’t like Chicago,” said Ald. Will Burns (4th), the former state lawmaker now chairing the City Council’s Education Committee.
“But, if something is going to be done for Chicago, the city cannot be the only beneficiary. Suburban and downstate schools have to benefit as well. So, in the grand scheme of things, I don’t think Barbara’s indictment is hurtful. Part of the reason why is there is new leadership at CPS.”
On Thursday, authorities said Byrd-Bennett will plead guilty to the charges; the indictment alleges she steered more than $23 million in no-bid contracts from CPS to her former employer.
Earlier this year, when news broke about the federal probe of those contracts, Byrd-Bennett took a leave of absence and eventually resigned.
Burns noted that Emanuel replaced Byrd-Bennett with Forrest Claypool, his chief of staff, whose reputation for integrity is unblemished at the Chicago Park District, City Hall, Cook County government and the CTA.
“Barbara is gone. Her entire team is gone. There’s a new team at CPS. Forrest has a great reputation over a 30-year career. [School Board President] Frank Clark also has a great reputation. Those two will help us get the resources CPS needs to educate kids,” Burns said.
He added, “The [SUPES] contract was a $20 million contract. CPS is facing a $500 million hole. I don’t think anyone who’s looking at a CPS fiscal crisis can put it at the feet of Barbara-Byrd Bennett.”
Burns called the long-awaited indictment “very sad” and particularly disappointing because Byrd-Bennett was a role model for inner-city kids at the helm of a system in desperate need of funding to educate those children.
“I’m disappointed. I’m surprised, and I’m saddened. This doesn’t seem like the Barbara Byrd-Bennett I got to know. She struck me as a woman who really cared about improving public education and neighborhood schools and working in a collaborative fashion with community stakeholders,” the alderman said.
Claypool refused to comment on the indictment, citing the ongoing investigation.
On Thursday evening, Emanuel briefly talked to reporters after speaking at an entrepreneurship awards ceremony at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago.
“I’m both disappointed [and] saddened by the details around the charges,” he said. “I think when people serve the public, they should uphold the trust that the public puts in them, and at least based on the details around the charges, that wasn’t the case here.
“Nonetheless, that doesn’t take away from all the advances being done by the principals, the administrators, the teachers, the students in really achieving greatness educationally and progress educationally,” he said.
Asked by a reporter whether he felt any responsibility for appointing Byrd-Bennett, Emanuel declined to comment.
“The U.S. attorney said this himself ... [this] is about Barbara Byrd-Bennett, it’s about the executives at SUPES, and both the actions they’ve taken and the attempts to deceive others,” Emanuel said.
The Byrd-Bennett indictment is the second major embarrassment for Emanuel on the corruption front. The first was City Comptroller Amer Ahmad, who was convicted for an extortion scheme that occurred while he was serving in Ohio, before he arrived in Chicago.
Byrd-Bennett’s alleged wrongdoing is far more damaging to the mayor because it occurred in Chicago while she was at the helm of a system trying desperately to avoid bankruptcy.
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