In a scathing report dropped overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, the inspector general for the Chicago Public Schools called the district's spending on travel "questionable" and "exorbitant."

The report, "Examination of CPS Overnight Travel Spending," detailed trips that investigators said taxpayers would find "excessive." It contains numerous eye-popping examples of what it calls "travel abuses" and "broken travel expense promises."

"By our judgement, the costs were frequently excessive, and in fact they frequently exceeded CPS's spending limit," CPS Inspector General Philip Wagenknecht said. "We saw time and time again staff members were able to go on these trips without getting approval at all, without seeking approval, at times even after they sought approval and it was rejected."

Last-minute flights and limo rides all charged to taxpayers were documented.

City inspectors were careful to note that they recognize the value of professional development seminars and student travel. They also said they did not think employees were trying to game the system.

Instead, the report said the system itself is broken. Investigators discovered expense records were being kept on seven different databases that could not easily be linked, and they also found CPS had no written spending limits on international trips for employees or students.

Travel agencies also had no budget restrictions. The investigation began after a complaint about a $20,000 staff trip to Egypt that was never approved.

"The district was not consistently examining are these trips worth it for CPS?" Wagenknecht said.

The report found the amount spent on district travel more than doubled between 2019 and 2024. Most of that $7.7 million last year was for out-of-town employee professional development seminars or overnight student outings.

That $7.7 million figure for travel spending in 2024 was compared with $3.4 million for 2022 and $3.6 million for 2019.

Investigators said many of the trips were booked without pre-approvals, hotels and flights exceeded cost limits, and activities booked often had minimal or "dubious" value to students.

Some people charged CPS for limo rides to the airport and education retreats at spa resorts. Others would attend conferences in places like Las Vegas or Disney World, but would not attend similar events in Chicago, which would not have required travel.

The investigation also found 600 school and district staff went to Las Vegas for professional development.

"At that Vegas conference, they were staying at four- or five-star hotels, including Caesars Palace and the Bellagio," Wagenknecht said.

Almost 90 percent of those who attended exceeded the district's hotel room spending limit.

"CPS should find a way to do more professional development here in Chicago, close to home," Wagenknecht said.

The report said CPS employees also sometimes demanded specific airlines so they could use their air mile points for upgrades, or insisted on flying out of Midway International Airport when O'Hare would have been cheaper.

Investigators tore apart other specific trips, including the decision to send 20 high schoolers to South Africa for $140,000.

Students from CPS elementary schools also went to South Africa and Spain in one trip, as well as Ghana and Greece, for total costs between $61,000 and over $130,000.

Also documented was a $4,700, seven-day trip to a luxury Hawaiian resort for a four-day professional development seminar.

The report also documented "overseas professional development travel… intermixed with tourism," including a professional development trip to South Africa in which "an entire day was dedicated to an optional visit to Pilanesberg National Park complete with wildlife tourism (a game drive)."

One educator spent $945 per night on a hotel in Las Vegas for a conference booked last-minute, the report said.

The CPS Office of Inspector General alleges travel request reviews focused too much on proper paperwork instead of analyzing whether a trip was worth the cost.

The report also called CPS's bookkeeping "deficient." Investigators discovered that records were being kept on seven different databases that could not be easily linked.

The report says CPS was made aware of the findings and has already put a freeze on travel, and there are reports that some staffers could face disciplinary action.

CPS earlier this year announced a budget deficit of more than $700 million. This summer, the district laid off hundreds of staff and made other cuts to close the gap, with more cuts likely.

CPS released this statement on Wednesday in response to the inspector general's report:

"Chicago Public Schools (CPS) remains unwavering in its commitment to fiscal responsibility and the success of our students. As a District, CPS  takes seriously our responsibility to protect the safety of our staff, students and families and to serve our CPS community with integrity, and protect our investments and resources. We take seriously the findings and recommendations from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and will continue to ensure our District policies and procedures support the highest ethical standards and that our employees act in the best interest of our students, the District, and our city.

"The core mission of CPS is clear: to provide every student with a high-quality, rigorous, inclusive, and enriching education that meets the diverse needs of all learners. This goal requires multiple strategies along with a unified effort at every level to reduce expenditures in a sustainable way.

"Effective October 29, CPS is restricting nearly all employee travel and has formed a Travel Review Committee, effective November 2025. Travel controls, transparency, and auditability will improve with the implementation of the new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) financial system that is currently underway. ERP will improve automation for improved reconciliation between travel requests and travel spend as well as automate restrictions on types of travel, amounts, and accounts."