Former CPS exec charged with scamming pandemic relief programs

A former top Chicago Public School official was charged with ripping off two pandemic relief programs, nearly three years after the school system found she had lied about her income in order to receive loans. Crystal Cooper, the district’s former chief operating officer, was among at least 14 CPS staffers who quit in 2023 after the district's inspector general uncovered they had falsified information on applications for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans. In May, Cooper was charged with…