CHICAGO — A recent report from Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General has raised concerns about what it describes as “questionable, excessive” expenses incurred during international trips taken by Chicago Public Schools (CPS) employees.

These trips included destinations such as Egypt, Finland, and South Africa, highlighting the global reach of these excursions.

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On Wednesday, the watchdog organization called on CPS to review and amend its travel policies. This comes in the wake of findings that indicate CPS travel expenses escalated to a staggering $7.7 million last year.

This amount more than doubles the district’s spending from five years ago, preceding the impacts of the pandemic.

The report further notes that CPS personnel frequently surpassed budgetary limits and charged trips and related activities without obtaining the necessary approvals.

That included a professional development conference in Las Vegas that more than 600 employees attended between 2022 and 2024, during which they spent more than $1.5 million.

Nearly 90% of attendees stayed in hotel rooms that exceeded CPS spending limits.

The watchdog group also found about 40% of all conference attendees traveled without receiving approval.

This all comes while CPS faced a $734 million deficit this year, before passing a $10.2 billion budget in August.

CPS says the district takes the report findings seriously, saying in part, “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 financial system that is currently underway.”

The school district says this new system will hopefully improve automation and implement more restrictions for travel requests and expenses.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said they have no comment at this time because they’re still going through the IG report.