Learning Loss? CPS Spent the Money on Camel Tours, Safaris, and $900-a-Night Hotel Rooms

Chicago Public Schools just got hit with a brutal watchdog report — and taxpayers have every right to be furious.

Over the past six years, CPS employees racked up $23.6 million in travel expenses at 5-star hotels, international trips, luxury resorts, and Vegas conferences — many never approved and some blatantly abused.

We’re talking:

• $945-a-night Vegas hotel rooms
• “Professional development” trips doubled as South African safaris, hot-air balloon rides, and camel tours
• $4,700 Hawaiian vacations labeled as seminars
• Round-trip flights costing over $1,000
• A principal bringing their spouse to celebrate their anniversary — on taxpayers’ dime
• Over 600 employees flocking to Vegas for seminars but skipping the exact same one when it was offered in Chicago

All while:

📉 Only 2 in 5 CPS students read at grade level
📉 Only 1 in 4 meet math proficiency
📉 Teacher absenteeism stays sky-high

The spending exploded when federal pandemic funds arrived — money meant to help kids recover from massive learning loss. Instead, it helped fund luxury trips.