CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Inspector General for the Chicago Public Schools found financial fraud and inadequate background checks during investigations last school year.
The office calls for fundamental reform in how CPS oversees high school sports after it found 36 people were paid to officiate games despite being on the do not lire list—including one with a kidnapping conviction and eight investigated for sexual misconduct with students.
The inspector general continued to find fraud in school lunch forms, where it says, despite a decade of misuse, 100 CPS employees with six-figure salaries abused unverified forms to get hundreds of dollars in fees waived.
The district has blocked those refs identified, is conducting more background checks and agreed to reform the fee waiver process next year.
The Inspector General for Chicago Public Schools also warned about improper political activity after investigating the campaign of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot.
The Inspector General found no coordination between CPS and the Lightfoot campaign but poor management and oversight.
Eight students volunteered in response to emails sent to CPS teachers and did not get promised class credit.
Interim Inspector General Amber Nesbitt’s office accuses the former mayor’s campaign of hampering its ability to investigate.
A Lightfoot spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune they faithfully cooperated with all appropriate requests.
As CPS moves to a fully-elected school board, the IG recommends the district require candidates to swear they’ve reviewed its ethics code, which bans employees from campaigning at work or using district resources.
The watchdog for Chicago Public Schools received fewer complaints last school year but saw repeated allegations of fraud and sexual abuse.
Of the 1,400 complaints, the Office of the Inspector General says one in four was about staff on student sexual misconduct.
The Sexual Allegations Unit substantiated seven cases of abuse and 49 others of sexual harassment, grooming, improper boundaries and more.
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