Skip to content
  • Chicago Reporter
  • Chicago Reporter
  • Topics
    • Child and Family
    • Coronavirus
    • Criminal Justice
    • Education
    • Employment and Labor
    • Government and Politics
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Immigration
    • Race and Culture
    • Transportation
  • Perspectives
    • Curtis Black: The Powers That Be
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Staff
    • Our Supporters
    • Awards
  • Archive
    • Search the Archive, 1972-present
    • Catalyst Issues
    • Reporter Issues
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

Chicago Reporter - Investigating race and poverty since 1972

Support NonProfit News

Donate Now

Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/civic-leaders-seek-to-distance-themselves-from-supes-contract-targeted-by-feds/)

  • Topics
    • Child and Family
    • Coronavirus
    • Criminal Justice
    • Education
    • Employment and Labor
    • Government and Politics
    • Health
    • Housing
    • Immigration
    • Race and Culture
    • Transportation
  • Perspectives
    • Curtis Black: The Powers That Be
  • About
    • Our History
    • Our Staff
    • Our Supporters
    • Awards
  • Archive
    • Search the Archive, 1972-present
    • Catalyst Issues
    • Reporter Issues
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • We Recommend:
  • See all of our COVID-19 coverage
  • ¿Cómo afecta COVID-19 a su barrio en Illinois?
  • Coronavirus en Illinois: mapa actualizado diariamente
SUPES Academy

Civic leaders seek to distance themselves from SUPES Academy, now target of fed probe

By Sarah Karp and Melissa Sanchez Melissa Sanchez | April 20, 2015
More
  • More on SUPES Academy
  • Subscribe to SUPES Academy

Mark Van Scyoc/shutterstock.com

One of Mayor Emanuel's inner circle has been interviewed by the FBI in connection with the SUPES Academy investigation.

Governor Bruce Rauner, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Public Education Fund–the non-profit organization that paid to pilot the initiative at the center of an ongoing federal investigation into the circumstances surrounding a controversial $20 million contract–all sought to distance themselves from the situation on Monday.

The Chicago Public Education Fund, a non-profit that Rauner and Emanuel have both been involved with, originally gave SUPES Academy $380,000 to provide coaching to network chiefs and deputies. In a statement issued Monday, the Fund acknowledged that they had been contacted by federal investigators, but said they have been informed that it was “solely as a witness” and not as a target.

In 2013, SUPES received a $20 million no-bid contract for principal training that is the focus of the federal probe that has targeted Barbara Byrd-Bennett, who is now on leave from the CEO position. She has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

A source tells Catalyst Chicago that in 2011 and 2012, Byrd-Bennett was paid through the SUPES contract with the Fund to provide coaching for then-Chief Education Officer Noemi Donoso, whose position Byrd-Bennett eventually took over.

The Fund is a politically connected group made up of Chicago’s civic elite. The 15-year-old organization has funded a variety of projects, from a consultant who helped to write a CPS action plan to staff time at the University of Chicago to help develop the current teacher evaluation system called REACH.

In May of 2012, when CPS hired Byrd-Bennett to be the chief education officer, it was widely reported that she had been in Chicago for 10 months doing “executive coaching” and was being paid by the Fund. At the time, the Fund did not refute that, but now officials say that the Fund never paid Byrd-Bennett directly.

The Fund was asked by CPS leaders to continue to pay SUPES, but it declined, according to the statement from Fund Executive Director Heather Anichini. Anichini would not say whether the Fund ‘s decision to end SUPES’ funding was connected to quality, the contract itself, or something else.

“We work differently than other philanthropies,” Anichini said. “We set very clear expectations for what we want those programs or opportunities to provide for teachers and principals. In cases where those expectations are being met, we continue to work with those organizations.”

Since then, the Fund has had no involvement with SUPES, according to the statement.

Then, by October 2012, SUPES got its first no-bid contract with CPS for $2 million. In June of 2013, they were awarded the $20.5 million that raised suspicions and led to a Catalyst article that spurred an investigation by the inspector general.

Board of Education Vice President Jesse Ruiz, who is a lawyer, was appointed interim CEO. Ruiz sent out a memo to staff this weekend saying that he is asking for a third-party to review the process for awarding single-source bids.

At a luncheon on Monday, Rauner at first said that the Fund did not pay for SUPES. Once corrected, he said the Fund did “what the mayor or what the schools leadership wanted to do.”

“It was a little bit more of a support group rather than a truly independent group,” he said. “And that was a source of frustration to me over time.”

Anichini later said she disagreed with Rauner’s perspective and that the Fund operates independently of CPS.

Emanuel said his administration played no role in the contract given to SUPES. Emanuel says he supports Ruiz having the procurement process reviewed. He also said he thinks that Board President David Vitale is doing a good job. Both Ruiz and Vitale voted to award the contract to SUPES.

Also on Monday, several groups made up of parents and activists held a press conference at City Hall to call on Emanuel to remove Vitale and board member Deborah Quazzo. Quazzo is a partner in a firm that invests in educational technology companies that are reportedly doing more business with CPS since she came on the board. Vitale was board president for the Academy of Urban School Leadership before assuming the role at CPS. AUSL has a number of contracts to manage schools.

“We want a school board with integrity,” said Jeannie Biggs, a CPS parent of three and a board member of Raise Your Hand. “A school board that we can trust and that includes leaders who have the best interests of our children at heart. We do not have that right now.”

 

 

Want more stories like this?

Get the latest from the Reporter delivered straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to our free email newsletter.

SIGN UP
More
  • More on SUPES Academy
  • Subscribe to SUPES Academy

About Sarah Karp

Sarah is the deputy editor of Catalyst Chicago.

  • More by Sarah

About Melissa Sanchez

Melissa Sanchez

Melissa Sanchez is a reporter for The Chicago Reporter. Email her at msanchez@chicagoreporter.com and follow her on Twitter at @msanchezMIA.

  • More by Melissa

Related Stories

  • From police to schools to transit, a crisis of accountability in Chicago

    As Rahm Emanuel courts flashy projects amid a slew of scandals, it seems the mayor is more accountable to big-money donors than to neighborhood constituents.

  • CPS sues Byrd-Bennett, SUPES pals for $65 million

    Chicago Public Schools is seeking to recoup money spent on the crooked SUPES contract and other penalties under a state law that allows government agencies to sue individuals who commit fraud against them.

  • Superintendents elsewhere caught up in SUPES

    Dozens of superintendents and other high-level district officials from across the country consulted for SUPES in the crooked deal that got former Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett in trouble. And in some cases — from St. Louis and Huntsville, Ala., to Baltimore and Prince George’s counties in Maryland — those officials work at districts that have also had SUPES contracts.

Illinois coronavirus tracker

Illinois coronavirus tracker

About The Chicago Reporter

Founded on the heels of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, The Chicago Reporter confronts racial and economic inequality, using the power of investigative journalism. Our mission is national but grounded in Chicago, one of the most segregated cities in the nation and a bellwether for urban policies.

Email Newsletter

Keep up with The Chicago Reporter. Sign up for our eNewsletter.

Contact us

Got a news tip or a story you want us to cover? Email us at tcr@chicagoreporter.com.
Tweets by @ChicagoReporter
Chicago Reporter

logo-1-reverse-1

logo-1-reverse-1

About Chicago Reporter

Founded on the heels of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, The Chicago Reporter confronts racial and economic inequality, using the power of investigative journalism. Our mission is national but grounded in Chicago, one of the most segregated cities in the nation and a bellwether for urban policies.

  • About
  • Our Staff
  • Archive
  • Multimedia
  • Settling for Misconduct
  • Subscribe
  • Donate

The Chicago Reporter 111 W. Jackson Blvd., Suite 820 | Chicago, IL 60604 | (312) 427-4830 | tcr@chicagoreporter.com

The Chicago Reporter is a publication of the Community Renewal Society, a faith-based organization founded in 1882.

Copyright ©2021 Community Renewal Society | Terms of Use

Chicago Reporter is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News

Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News.

Back to top ↑