Chicago Public Schools spent MILLIONS in Covid cash on 'resort spas, luxury hotels, and overseas destinations': IG report

 I've dug up the fresh dirt on this Chicago Public Schools (CPS) scandal, straight from the conservative playbook. It's a doozy: Amid a $734 million budget deficit and dismal student scores (only 42% proficient in reading, 27% in math), CPS blew $7.7 million on "professional development" jaunts last year—more than double pre-pandemic levels—fueled by federal COVID relief cash. That includes unapproved staff romps to Egypt (Pyramids, camel rides, bazaars), South Africa (safaris and game parks), Finland, and Estonia, plus Vegas suites and Hawaiian resorts. One elementary school alone shelled out $20k+ to a shady vendor for an Egypt trip that got axed last-minute, torching $53k in prepaid funds. The Inspector General's November 12 report calls it "questionable, excessive, and even exorbitant," with 40% of trips skipping approvals and zero oversight on blending "education" with straight-up tourism.

Conservative outlets and voices are torching it as peak blue-city grift—taxpayer-funded vacays while kids flop. Here's the heat:

• Not the Bee roasted CPS for "luxury vacations" to Egypt and South Africa, slamming the "professional development" excuse as cover for safaris and balloon rides while "less than half of students are proficient in math and reading." They quip it's why Chicago's a "national embarrassment."
• Illinois Republican Party blasted it on Facebook as taking "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" too far, noting $8 million vanished on Egypt, Finland, and Vegas "while CPS drowns in red ink and kids can't read." They tag it straight corruption under Dem Mayor Brandon Johnson.
• Chicago Tribune Editorial Board (center-right leaning) eviscerated the "travel tab" as a "vacation brochure," highlighting the Egypt trip's tourist fluff and questioning why U.S. alternatives weren't tapped—calling for a full freeze on out-of-state jaunts until the deficit's tamed.

The OIG's pushing reforms—pre-approvals, spending caps, local PD mandates—but conservatives say it's too little, too late for a system that's more safari than syllabus.
https://thepostmillennial.com/chicago-public-schools-spent-millions-in-covid-cash-on-resort-spas-luxury-hotels-and-overseas-destinations-ig-report