Chicago School Board Seeks $65 Million in Lawsuit Against ex-CEO in Multi-million-dollar Bribery Scheme

The Chicago Board of Education is seeking more than $65 million in damages and penalties in a lawsuit against former district CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett and her co-defendants in a multimillion-dollar bribery scheme. Also named in the lawsuit is SUPES Academy and Synesi Associates; Gary Solomon and his partner Thomas Vranas are owner of the companies. The federal indictment accused Solomon and Vranas of arranging to pay Byrd-Bennett as much as $2.3 million in kickbacks and other perks in exchange for her using her influence to award more than $23 million in no-bid contracts to SUPES Academy. Byrd-Bennett had previously worked as a consultant for SUPES. In its lawsuit, the school board says the defendants "have used and are continuing to use public funds fraudulently obtained from Plaintiff to pay multiple law firms to defend them in their efforts to avoid the consequences of their wrongful conduct, to hire lawyers to insist that Defendants' ability to pay be kept secret from public scrutiny, and to provide sources of funds to pay criminal penalties as part of hoped-for concessions in plea agreements and sentencing."  [Chicago Tribune]

Chicago school district sues former CEO as finances worsen

March 10, 2016

Reuters - The Chicago school district on Thursday sued its former chief, who pleaded guilty last year to her role in a kickback scheme, and owners of two education training firms, seeking more than $65 million in damages.

The civil lawsuit was filed in Cook County Circuit Court as the third largest U.S. school district faces a cash crunch in June when a big teachers' pension payment is due, and a possible teachers' strike before the school year ends.

Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the former Chicago Public Schools chief executive, pleaded guilty in November to one count of wire fraud in a case involving $2 million in kickbacks and bribes she agreed to accept in exchange for a lucrative contract to train Chicago school principals.

The lawsuit also named Gary Solomon and Thomas Vranas, and their SUPES and Synesi education training firms which had won the contract. Solomon and Vranas have also been charged with crimes in the kickback case and their cases are pending.

"With scarce resources, staff furloughs and painful budget cuts, CPS is keeping a close watch on every dollar," Forrest Claypool, who took over as the district's CEO in July, said in a statement.

"Barbara Byrd-Bennett and her co-conspirators knew the district's dire straits and still concocted this scheme to divert needed resources away from classrooms and line their own pockets," he added.

Byrd-Bennett's attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Claypool told school principals on Wednesday to curb spending because the district did not have enough money to get through the school year, as it is due to pay $700 million into the teachers' pension fund this summer.

With its debt rating at "junk" status, the district would have to pay very high interest rates if it were to issue bonds to resolve its cash crunch.

The district has more than 600 schools and 435,000 students.