Barbara Byrd-Bennett

Barbara Louise Byrd–Bennett (born July 27, 1949) is an American educator, education administrator, former school superintendent and convicted felon. Byrd-Bennett is the former chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) and the Cleveland Municipal School District. She served as CEO of the Cleveland schools from 1998 to 2006.[2] From 2009 to 2011, she was the academic and accountability officer for the Detroit Public Schools system.[3] She was hired as the chief education advisor for CPS in April 2012[2] and then named CEO by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel six months later.[4][5]

Barbara Byrd–Bennett
CEO of Chicago Public Schools
In office October 11, 2012 – June 15, 2015
Preceded by	Jean-Claude Brizard
Succeeded by	Jesse Ruiz (interim)
Superintendent of Cleveland Municipal School District
In office September 23, 1998 – August 17, 2006
Preceded by	Louis J. Erste (interim)[1]
Succeeded by	Lisa Marie Ruda (interim)[1]
Personal details
Born	Barbara Louise Byrd July 27, 1949 Harlem, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Spouse(s)	Leonard Franklin ​ ​ (m. 1969; div. 1977)​ Bruce Bennett ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	Nailah K. Byrd–Suggs
Alma mater	B.A. Long Island University M.A. New York University
Occupation	Educator Education administrator school superintendent

She resigned from CPS in 2015 amid a bribery investigation,[6] which led to her pleading guilty to multiple charges.[7] In 2017, Byrd-Bennett was sentenced to 4 1/2 years at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson in West Virginia. She was released from prison and placed on home confinement in May 2020.

Background

Born in Harlem, Byrd-Bennett was the first of two daughters born to Helen Lee. Byrd-Bennett graduated from high school at age 15. After high school, Byrd-Bennett began studying at Long Island University where she received a Bachelors of Arts in 1969. In addition to her B.A., Byrd-Bennett has a Master’s of Science from Pace University, and a Master’s of the Arts from New York University.

Byrd-Bennett also holds honorary doctorate degrees from Cleveland State University, Baldwin Wallace College, John Carroll University and the University of Notre Dame.[8]

Federal criminal investigations and conviction

The indictment against Byrd-Bennett

Detroit Public Schools

In 2012, federal agents began investigating Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s role in a $40 million textbook contract that was awarded while she worked in Detroit.[9] The deal was similar to a later one in Chicago in that both involved companies for which Byrd-Bennett had previously worked.[9] No charges have resulted from the Detroit investigation.

Chicago Public Schools

In April 2015, Byrd-Bennett took a personal leave as Chicago Public Schools CEO during an investigation into a $20.5 million no-bid contract that had been awarded to SUPES Academy, a professional development organization she used to work with as a consultant.[10] She resigned in June 2015 and had been on paid leave since April.[6][11]

In October 2015, a federal grand jury in Illinois returned a 23-count indictment against Byrd-Bennett and two co-conspirators.[12][13]

On October 8, 2015, the US Attorney handling the case announced that Byrd-Bennett would plead guilty to charges that she set up a kickback scheme in which she steered no-bid CPS contracts worth more than $23 million to her former employer, SUPES Academy, which would pay her 10% of that amount. Her former boss, the owner of SUPES, also promised Byrd-Bennett a job after she left her CPS post, trust accounts funded with $127,000 for each of her twin grandsons,[14] and other perks. It was reported that the US Attorney's office found incriminating evidence against Byrd-Bennett, including an email to the SUPES owner that said, "I have tuition to pay and casinos to visit."[15][16] She had pushed parties aggressively to secure the corrupt deals.[17]

Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty on October 13, 2015 in federal court. In exchange for her cooperation prosecutors agreed to request a sentence of 7 1/2 years in prison, which is below the federal sentencing guidelines. She agreed to delay her sentencing until after the charges against her co-defendants were resolved.[14][7] On April 28, 2017, she was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison.[18] On August 28, 2017, Byrd-Bennett began serving her sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, nicknamed "Camp Cupcake," in West Virginia. Byrd-Bennett protected release date is June 28, 2021.[19] In May 2020, Byrd-Bennett was released from prison and was placed on home confinement.[20]

Personal life

Byrd-Bennett has been married two times and has one daughter. In 1969, She married Leonard Franklin in New York. She gave birth to their daughter, Naliah, in January 1972. Byrd-Bennett divorced Franklin in 1977.

Byrd-Bennett has been married to Bruce Bennett since 1988. Byrd-Bennett's daughter currently serves as the Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts in Ohio.[21][22]

See also

• Political corruption in Illinois

References

1. Cleveland Metropolitan School District - FORMER CEOS, SUPERINTENDENTS
2. Patrick O'Donnell. "Former Cleveland schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett becomes CEO of Chicago Public Schools". The Plain Dealer. cleveland.com. October 12, 2012. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
3. Ryan Beene. "Detroit Public Schools appoints Barbara Byrd-Bennett as chief academic officer. Crain's Detroit Business. April 24, 2009. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
4. Mayor Emanuel Names Barbara Byrd-Bennett New CEO. Chicago Public Schools. October 12, 2012. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
5. Whet Moser. "Barbara Byrd-Bennett Replaces Jean-Claude Brizard as Head of Chicago Public Schools". Chicago Magazine. October 12, 2012. Retrieved on March 22, 2013.
6. Juan Perez, Jr. "CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett resigns amid federal criminal investigation". Chicago Tribune. June 1, 2015. Retrieved on June 2, 2015.
7. Meisner, Jason; Perez Jr., Juan (October 13, 2015). "Ex-CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty, tearfully apologizes to students". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
8. WTTW - Barbara Byrd-Bennett (Chicago Public Schools CEO)
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 29, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
10. Juan Perez Jr. and Hal Dardick. "CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett on leave amid federal probe". Chicago Tribune. April 17, 2015. Retrieved on June 2, 2015.
11. Perez, Juan Jr (1 June 2015). "CPS chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett resigns amid federal criminal investigation". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
12. "PDF: Read the Barbara Byrd-Bennett indictment". Chicago Tribune. October 8, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
13. Silets, Alexandra (October 12, 2015). "Examining the Indictment of Barbara Byrd-Bennett". Chicago Tonight. WTTW. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
14. O'Donnell, Patrick (October 13, 2015). "Barbara Byrd-Bennett pleads guilty; daughter Nailah Byrd never received cash from her fraud". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
15. Fitzpatrick, Lauren; Seidel, Jon; Mihalopoulos, Dan (October 8, 2015). "Feds: Byrd-Bennett said 'tuition to pay and casinos to visit' led to kickbacks". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
16. Meisner, Jason; Perez Jr., Juan (October 8, 2015). "Former Chicago Public Schools chief to plead guilty to bribery scheme". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 8, 2015.
17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 30, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
18. O'Donnell, Patrick (April 28, 2017). "Barbara Byrd-Bennett sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for kickback scheme". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
19. O'Donnell, Patrick (August 25, 2017). "Barbara Byrd-Bennett reports to "Camp Cupcake" prison on Monday". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
20. Seidel, Jon. "Barbara Byrd-Bennett, crooked ex-CPS CEO, leaves prison", Chicago Sun-Times. May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
21. Naliah K. Byrd - Cuyahoga County Clerk of Courts
22. Cuyahoga County's clerk of courts paid more than counterparts, but county says $150,858 salary is justified - Updated Jan 30, 2019; Posted Jan 24, 2018