Investigations

CPS Employee Accused of Double-Dipping Through Dual Employment Scheme Now Works for CTA, Records Show

A former Chicago Public Schools employee who was classified as ineligible to be rehired after being accused of defrauding the district through a dual employment scheme is now working in a six-figure job at the Chicago Transit Authority. 

Records obtained by WTTW News identified the former CPS employee whose scheme was first detailed in the annual CPS Office of the Inspector General report from January that described the then unnamed employee’s work as both a full-time CPS staff member and contractor for the district.

Authorities say they are reviewing the evidence for potential criminal charges. Despite her exit during an ongoing investigation, the technology worker was later hired by the CTA. 

A public employee’s ability to attain new employment at a government agency despite being designated as ineligible for rehire at another raises questions about how potential hires are screened and how the city and sister agencies communicate about potential hires.

The OIG investigation found former district employee Lauren Coleman worked simultaneously for the district and a CPS vendor, logging overlapping hours — including while traveling — triggering improper pay enabled by weak supervisory oversight.

Coleman, for her part, faults her supervisors and says she filled out time sheets as instructed and that her dual employment was known. 

The investigation by Philip Wagenknecht described alleged time fraud by Coleman, a former full-time technology coordinator at Benjamin E. Mays Elementary Academy who later worked as a full-time direct digital controls specialist in CPS’ Information & Technology Services department. Coleman was an employee of CPS from 2020 to 2023. 

Coleman was also employed at RL Canning, a CPS technology services vendor, before and during her concurrent employment by the district. The company provides personnel to CPS to help augment the district’s internal ITS workforce.

Investigators determined Coleman defrauded CPS of between $77,364 and $135,386 by systematically reporting false or grossly inflated work hours to RL Canning, according to the OIG.

Although it’s likely impossible to determine exactly how many of Coleman’s reported hours were fraudulent, interviews with an RL Canning vice president, a CPS supervisor and Coleman suggested that she worked 20 to 80 hours per month while also employed with CPS, according to the investigation.

“Ultimately, the OIG found that Coleman’s time fraud constituted theft under the Illinois Criminal Code and violated her fiduciary duty to CPS under the district’s Code of Ethics,” according to the investigation.

CPS confirmed the OIG contacted authorities to launch a formal criminal investigation, and county officials confirmed their involvement.

“The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office takes allegations involving the misappropriation of public funds and public corruption very seriously,” the state’s attorney communications department wrote in a statement. “Through the work of our Multi-Jurisdiction Bureau (MJB), we continue to work with law enforcement to review any information that is brought to us to determine if legal action is appropriate.”

According to the investigation, Coleman’s assigned duties included setting up local servers, troubleshooting device issues, doing walk-throughs with vendors, and setting up and maintaining air quality devices. She had multiple managers who were tasked with supervising her work.

The investigation examined time records from CPS and RL Canning. Coleman logged hours or sick time for both jobs on 678 of the same days, according to the investigation, racking up more than 12 combined hours on 671 days, and more than 15 hours on 569 days.

“Chicago Public Schools (CPS) values its partnership with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and actively supports efforts to investigate misconduct among its 40,000 employees. The District takes its responsibility to serve families with integrity seriously, addressing individuals who violate CPS policies and undermine public trust while holding them accountable,” a spokesperson wrote in response to the case. 

Records obtained by the OIG show Coleman reported working while on trips to Medellin, Colombia; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Cape Town, South Africa; Nashville; Houston; and Miami in 2022 and 2023.

In an April 2025 interview by the OIG, Coleman discussed her work hours while on the trip to South Africa. Records show the OIG asked Coleman if she recalled going to the Dominican Republic. At this point, Coleman and her attorney said she was done with the interview, and it concluded.

The investigation determined Coleman’s supervisors did not track her daily tasks or hours. RL Canning billed CPS based on self-reported hours, and the supervisors approved invoices without reviewing underlying work.

According to the OIG, a lack of oversight led to inflated billing and redundant or unnecessary vendor services by RL Canning and potentially other vendors. CPS said efforts to recuperate money are still being assessed.

The OIG recommended that CPS should enforce proper use of tickets for tracking vendor work. CPS said staff and vendors are now required to use the district’s ticketing system to track requests, and that official language will be included in all future relevant staff augmentation agreements or contracts.

While Coleman appeared to have misled RL Canning about her employment with CPS according to the OIG, the investigation found at least one of her supervisors in the ITS department was aware of her dual employment, though he said he understood it to be a part-time role.

Coleman laid the blame squarely at the feet of her supervisors in an interview with WTTW News, saying she filled out her time sheets the way she was instructed and that her dual employment was not a secret.

“They did not submit the proper paperwork for me doing the second job,” Coleman said. “Everybody was aware.”

She performed her work for RL Canning off the clock, often on weekends, and reported it regularly, Coleman said.

“I guess because I didn’t say something to higher up, it was considered ethically wrong,” Coleman said.

In an interview, one former supervisor disputed Coleman’s characterization of events, saying she was responsible for the hours she was submitting for her work. 

“If they did work on the weekends, they would have let me know. But that didn’t happen,” the former employee said of those he supervised on the RL Canning team. “Lauren saw a loophole and took advantage of it.”

Coleman said she could not recall specific details about her work schedule or the number of hours worked when interviewed by the OIG, citing personal trauma and the deaths of loved ones during the period in question. 

A report submitted to the Board of Education in 2023 estimated the total compensation for RL Canning’s work for CPS would not exceed $13.8 million over three years. RL Canning did not respond to a request for comment.

The actions by Coleman were followed by the termination of her supervisors at CPS and her coworkers at RL Canning, according to the investigation. The supervisors were found to have failed to monitor or verify vendor work, enabling the alleged fraud.

One of Coleman’s CPS supervisors and his boss were given do-not-rehire designations, while Coleman’s do-not-rehire from 2023 was maintained. Coleman was suspended and quit her job at CPS during the investigation, documents show.

Her resume since leaving CPS shows she has continued working in public-sector roles. Coleman confirmed Thursday that she was hired by Chicago Transit Authority following her exit from CPS.

CPS said it has no record of any city agency contacting the district regarding Coleman’s employment history. CTA did not answer questions from WTTW News about Coleman’s employment or its backgrounding process before this story was published. 

Current records list Coleman as a construction project manager for CTA. She was paid $112,584.70 in 2025, records show.

Contact Jared Rutecki: @JaredRutecki | [email protected]

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