Dive Brief:
- Detroit ABC affiliate WXYZ reports that former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett may have accepted plane tickets and $26,000 after securing a deal for textbook publisher Houghton Mifflin Harcourt during her time as chief academic and accountability officer for Detroit Public Schools.
- No charges have been formally filed, but an FBI warrant accuses Byrd-Bennett of taking the kickbacks.
- Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty last month for her involvement in a multimillion dollar kickback scandal involving no-bid contracts and the Chicago Public Schools.
Dive Insight:
Byrd-Bennett's dealings in Chicago have been particularly embarrassing for the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who reportedly hand-picked her. The FBI warrant in Detroit was reportedly uncovered by the Chicago Sun-Times during its coverage of the CPS corruption investigation. The contract in question, with textbook company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has been under internal investigation in Detroit since 2011.
