THE FIX IS IN - $20 Million Dollar Scandal from the Chicago Public Schools and plea offer lets her spend LESS THAN A YEAR IN JAIL.... And Blago got 14 years for NOT TAKING A PENNY!
The former head of Chicago Public Schools pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges in an alleged scheme to steer $23 million in no-bid contracts to education firms for $2.3 million in bribes and kickbacks.
Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who ran the nation's 3rd largest school district for nearly three years, had faced 20 fraud counts, each with a maximum 20-year prison term. However, she pleaded guilty to one fraud count in federal court in Chicago. In exchange, prosecutors will dismiss all the other counts.
U.S. District Judge Edmond Chang will sentence the 66-year-old at a later date.
Appearing tense and her voice subdued, Byrd-Bennett stood unmoving before the judge, answering questions with, "Yes, you your honor."
Mayor Rahm Emanuel hired Byrd-Bennett as CEO in 2012, and she resigned earlier this year.
CPS is facing a steep budget shortfall and a severely underfunded pension system, as well as lingering criticism after dozens of schools were closed in 2013 in what Emanuel and education officials argued would help focus resources and improve the school system.
The indictment alleges the owners of two education service and training companies' offered Byrd-Bennett a job and a hefty one-time payment — disguised as a lucrative signing bonus — once she left CPS.
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