Chicago Public Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett may still be a resident of Solon, Ohio and not Chicago Illinois, according to an investigation by Substance News, a newspaper covering Chicago Education. The CEO is also still registered to vote in Ohio, the paper reports.
Substance looked at tax and voter registration records and found that as of April 3, 2013, Byrd-Bennett is an Ohio taxpayer, voter and resident. She owns a home valued at more than $500, 000 in a Cleveland suburb. Chi-Town Review performed an online search and confirmed Byrd-Bennett’s Ohio voter registration and residency. A Chicago address could not be found.
The Substance report also points to a Board of Education policy requiring all board employees to be Chicago residents.
Opponents to Byrd-Bennett’s proposal to shutter 54 CPS schools–one of the largest group of school closures in the country–have criticized the CEO for not understanding Chicago’s school system well enough to usher radical changes. The proposal has been met with fierce outcries and protest.
Read more at Substance News.
