Today, Friday, January 30, the Center for Popular Democracy (CPD) and Action Now in Illinois unveiled a new report finding that the Illinois charter system is extremely vulnerable to fraud.

Click here for the report.  

The report found that, years after the federal government warned of poor oversight of fiscal controls in Illinois charter schools, the daunting lack of transparency and oversight could have led to tens of millions of dollars in fraud – in 2014 alone.

“Illinois has invested in charter growth, but not adequately in charter oversight. The purpose of this report is to provide lawmakers with concrete solutions to prevent and deter future fraud,” said Kyle Serrette, Director of Education at the Center for Popular Democracy.

“The proliferation of charter schools in Chicago has diverted millions of dollars of taxpayer money away from public neighborhood schools without proper oversight – and the instances of fraud have been well documented. Chicago Public Schools says they are broke, but a small investment in financial oversight of charters would pay dividends for our schools. Instead of losing millions to fraud, we could have more librarians, after-school programs and gym. We could build real, high-quality education that our children need,” said Katelyn Johnson, Executive Director of Action Now.

Click here for the report.

Illinois public schools are hardly alone. A national 2014 report by the Center for Popular Democracy documented the growing problem of fraud, waste, and abuse, and found more than $100 million lost to lack of oversight.