Barbara Byrd-Bennett

Born in Harlem, Byrd-Bennett was the first of two daughters born to Helen Lee. Byrd-Bennett graduated from high school at age 15. After high school, Byrd-Bennett began studying at Long Island University where she received a Bachelors of Arts in 1969. In addition to her B.A., Byrd-Bennett has a Master’s of Science from Pace University, and a Master’s of the Arts from New York University. Byrd-Bennett also holds honorary doctorate degrees from Cleveland State University, Baldwin Wallace College, John Carroll University and the University of Notre Dame. ==Federal criminal investigations and conviction==

Detroit Public Schools In 2012, federal agents began investigating Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s role in a $40 million textbook contract that was awarded while she worked in Detroit. The deal was similar to a later one in Chicago in that both involved companies for which Byrd-Bennett had previously worked. She resigned in June 2015 and had been on paid leave since April. In October 2015, a federal grand jury in Illinois returned a 23-count indictment against Byrd-Bennett and two co-conspirators. On October 8, 2015, the US Attorney handling the case announced that Byrd-Bennett would plead guilty to charges that she set up a kickback scheme in which she steered no-bid CPS contracts worth more than $23 million to her former employer, SUPES Academy, which would pay her 10% of that amount. Her former boss, the owner of SUPES, also promised Byrd-Bennett a job after she left her CPS post, trust accounts funded with $127,000 for each of her twin grandsons, and other perks. It was reported that the US Attorney's office found incriminating evidence against Byrd-Bennett, including an email to the SUPES owner that said, "I have tuition to pay and casinos to visit." She had pushed parties aggressively to secure the corrupt deals. Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty on October 13, 2015 in federal court. In exchange for her cooperation prosecutors agreed to request a sentence of 7 1/2 years in prison, which is below the federal sentencing guidelines. She agreed to delay her sentencing until after the charges against her co-defendants were resolved. On August 28, 2017, Byrd-Bennett began serving her sentence at Federal Prison Camp, Alderson, nicknamed "Camp Cupcake," in West Virginia. In May 2020, Byrd-Bennett was released from prison and was placed on home confinement. The CPS Inspector General's report for 2020 detailed more instances of Byrd-Bennet's misconduct, leading the district to act against several vendors and their executives. The report said "the Byrd-Bennett investigations revealed one of the most exceptional cases of an official’s abuse of public trust in CPS’s history." ==Personal life==

Byrd-Bennett has been married twice and has one daughter. In 1969, She married Leonard Franklin in New York. She gave birth to their daughter, Naliah, in January 1972. Byrd-Bennett divorced Franklin in 1977. Byrd-Bennett has been married to Bruce Bennett since 1988. Byrd-Bennett's daughter, a former prosecutor, has been the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Clerk of Courts since 2015. ==See also==