Former Chicago Schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett
In return for the plea, prosecutors will recommend a lighter sentence for Vranas. He also must pay $254,000 in restitution.
Bennett pleaded guilty last year; her sentencing has been delayed while prosecutors follow up and complete related cases. Solomon has pleaded not guilty and has a trial date set in October.
Vranas and Solomon owned The SUPES Academy, which provided professional development training for education administrators, and Synesi Associates, which offered education consulting services. Byrd-Bennett worked at both companies before joining the Chicago school system.
Vranas's plea agreement states that from 2012 to 2014, he set aside between 4 percent and 9 percent of what SUPES and Synesi collected and put it in a "development fund," a portion of which would be paid to Byrd-Bennett upon her return to SUPES as a reward for her efforts to obtain contracts with the Chicago school system.
