In the summer of 2013, Mayor Emanuel’s handpicked lineup of school board appointees featured the best and the brightest of corporate Chicago, including two lawyers, one banker, a venture capitalist, and the retired president of Northwestern University.
So we have to ask ourselves: Why couldn’t our public school watchdogs see what was staring them in the face? The answer, my friends, is that it’s hard to see when you have your eyes closed.
Or the one in which Byrd-Bennett writes Solomon that she’s looking forward to getting her kickbacks because “I have tuition to pay and casinos to visit.”
But they didn’t. Not one person spoke up. CPS officials and board members defended the deal for months, even after principals openly complained that the training sessions were a waste of time.
At the time, Mayor Emanuel had to decide between what was good for the schools and what was good for his political hide.
It would have been embarrassing for the mayor if Byrd-Bennett were to leave before the new school year started. She vaguely threatened to do so in some of her e-mails to City Hall officials.
