Ex Schools Chief Byrd-Bennett Pleads Guilty And Faces Jail Time

With tears in her eyes, she said she had a message for the schoolchildren and their families. “They deserved much more, much more than I gave to them”. When asked if he or the company had been subpoenaed or questioned by the U.S. Attorney’s office, he responded that he’d been talking to “multiple parties” about the contract.

It’s not like Byrd-Bennett did much to camouflage her scheme. Byrd-Bennett faces a reduced prison sentence of seven-and-a-half years and will be sentenced at a later date.

Byrd-Bennett faces 20 counts of mail and wire fraud for an alleged scheme to siphon away 10 percent of the money for herself.

The Wilmette-based SUPES and the Evanston-based Synesi are also charged, as are their respective former owners, Gary Solomon 47, of Wilmette, and Thomas Vranas, 34, of Glenview.

Martwick acknowledged that an elected school board is not a cure-all solution to corruption.

“We’re here because we want every position on that school board elected by the people of Chicago”, Action Now’s Executive Director Katelyn Johnson said during a morning press conference at Federal Plaza before Byrd-Bennett’s arraignment. Before coming to Chicago, Byrd-Bennett had been a district administrator in Detroit, Cleveland and New York City. That was the same year Emanuel hired Byrd-Bennett for the high-profile post. She remained free on her own recognizance until her next court appearance in January.

Under Byrd’s leadership the SUPES academy, her former employer, was given $23 million dollars in no-bid contracts. “It was suspicious for SUPES, a small company not well known to education experts in the city, to be awarded such a large contract”, she explained. Six months later, she was elevated by Emanuel to CEO.

Prosecutors say the kickbacks Byrd-Bennett received were to be used to set up college funds for her twin grandsons. Each carries a maximum 20-year prison term, but prosecutors usually dismiss a few counts and recommend leniency when a defendant pleads guilty.

Byrd-Bennett, Solomon and Vranas allegedly laid out their scheme in emails that were recovered by federal agents, according to the indictment.

In exchange, she was promised a consulting job at SUPES Academy after she retired from the Chicago school district, along with a “signing bonus”.

However, according to the Tribune the mayor’s office was more involved in the $20.5 million contract than previously disclosed and was fighting the release of public records that could shed more light on how the deal came to be.

“I have devoted my entire professional life to public education and, while there is no excusing or downplaying my misconduct, I believe I have done a lot of good, including in Chicago”, the statement continued.

The Chicago Reader’s Ben Joravsky summarizes elements of the indictment that identified Byrd-Bennett as a paid consultant for a firm called SUPES Academy (with an affiliate called Synesi Associates) prior to taking the helm of CPS.