As Orange County, Ca. was making its final bankruptcy bond payment to end its 23-year bankruptcy reorganization; Illinois, Connecticut, and Maine went into default shut-downs after failing to pass state budgets before the start of their July 1st fiscal years.
Federal prosecutors have recommended a 7.5-year jail sentence for former Chicago Public Schools chief Barbara Byrd-Bennett who pleaded guilty to corruption charges in 2015.
Schools around the country have decided to take a stand against President Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Led by an activist, left-wing teacher, high school students at Chicago’s Roosevelt public high school recently engaged in a boycott aimed at changing the way school lunches are made and delivered to kids in the Chicago public school system.
Last week, a former Chicago Public Schools (CPS) CEO was indicted on charges that she took bribes while steering up to $23 million in no-bid contracts to a consulting firm she once worked for, and some wonder if Emanuel’s office had a hand in that scandal. But the mayor’s office is blocking the release of records that could shed light on that relationship.
It was reported on Thursday that former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett intends to plead guilty to charges that she took bribes while steering up to $23 million in no-bid contracts to a consulting firm she worked for prior to taking over as head of the CPS.
Administrators of the Chicago Public Schools were forced to lower the last four years’ graduation rates after admitting they inflated the passing rates and fudged the number of dropouts. The schools’ Inspector General had raised the alarm over the falsified stats early this year, but the district took no action until October. That was five months after Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel won re-election, in part, because he used the false statistics as a campaign issue.
As the Chicago Public School District’s budget continues to crash, officials have announced the next round of layoffs, with over 450 employees getting the axe in schools across the city.
