Barbara Byrd-Bennett, the former chief of the Chicago Public School system, could be sentenced to serve up to seven-and-a-half years in prison after pleading guilty to corruption charges on Tuesday, according to the Chicagoist.
Byrd-Bennett faced a hearing on Tuesday, and is cooperating with prosecutors by answering questions about her federal crimes. As the public school CEO, she was giving her former employer multi-million dollar contracts without project bids. She received kickbacks in return.
She also had a message for the children. "I am terribly sorry, and I apologize to them. They deserve much more, much more than I gave to them," she said after the hearing was over. She did not stop to answer questions from reporters, according to the Chicago Tribune. Her sentence will not be given until charges against the co-defendants in the case have come to a resolution.
In exchange for her cooperation with the investigation, prosecutors are seeking the seven-and-a-half year sentence, rather than the 11 to 14 year sentence that usually applies under federal sentencing laws.
Byrd-Bennett purchased around $23 million in no-bid contracts from her former employer, and received around $2.3 million in various perks in return, according to CBS Chicago. She was charged with 20 counts of mail and wire fraud. In exchange for a single guilty plea, prosecutors will drop the other 19 counts.
