In keeping with the CPS Workplace of the Inspector Common’s annual report launched Wednesday, basketball coach Mike Irvin and members of his teaching workers conspired to fraudulently enroll not less than 17 college students to play at Kenwood.
Investigators discovered that not less than half of the varsity’s varsity gamers over three years had been fraudulently enrolled. Two of the basketball gamers are nonetheless enrolled at Kenwood after they offered CPS with correct residency documentation in late 2024.
Irvin resigned in November and has been positioned on the district’s do-not-hire listing. He was 90-26 in 4 seasons and led Kenwood to supersectional appearances in 2022 and 2023. Kenwood misplaced within the metropolis title sport in 2023 and 2024. In keeping with the report, all these victories might have been with ineligible gamers.
The inspector common started the investigation after receiving a number of complaints from the varsity neighborhood and a recruiting criticism from one other CPS highschool.
The enrollment scheme concerned offering households false addresses in Kenwood’s attendance space and offering or serving to households create false paperwork, together with faux leases and utility payments.
Some mother and father admitted to the inspector common that they used false addresses. One household lived in Lynwood, and one was in Richton Park. Some households submitted doctored ComEd payments as proof of residency, and a number of the faux addresses had been utilized by a number of gamers in the identical yr.
“I’m not responding to a subjective report by an opinionated particular person,” Irvin informed the Solar-Occasions on Tuesday. “It’s a witch hunt, particularly when 5 totally different variations of the story have already been informed. To offer a good account, you will need to look at the variety of occasions Kenwood has been featured within the media concerning fraudulent enrollment [for non-basketball related issues].”
The brand new revelations deliver up questions. Will CPS or the Illinois Excessive Faculty Affiliation levy further punishments in opposition to Kenwood? Will the IHSA proceed to permit CPS to police itself?
An IHSA spokesperson informed the Solar-Occasions on Tuesday that the group would reserve remark till reviewing the total report.
“That is completely above my pay grade,” Irvin stated. “I’m only a basketball coach. My duty is to teach a program that has a varsity, sophomore and freshman staff. That’s over 180 gamers deemed eligible by our athletic administrators and the Workplace of Sports activities Administration. My focus has all the time been making certain my student-athletes succeed academically and athletically, and I’m happy with the outcomes. My staff’s cumulative GPA was 3.5, and I labored onerous to ship Black boys to varsity. That’s my contribution, and I stand happy with it.”
Membership basketball connection
Lots of the fraudulently enrolled gamers lived within the suburbs and a few in Chicago, however exterior of Kenwood’s attendance space. Practically all had been on Irvin’s membership staff, the Mac Irvin Hearth, in accordance with the report.
The overlap between the Mac Irvin Hearth and Kenwood ranged from 4 to 10 gamers through the years investigated. In three seasons, greater than half of Kenwood’s staff performed for the Mac Irvin Hearth. That’s in opposition to IHSA guidelines.
In keeping with the report, Irvin “repeatedly lied and gave evasive, inconsistent and unbelievable solutions” when interviewed by the inspector common.
Irvin claimed he met his gamers after they enrolled at Kenwood, despite the fact that that they had already performed for the Mac Irvin Hearth. He additionally denied he was the Hearth’s CEO or ran the membership staff, despite the fact that his resume lists him as CEO.
CPS failures in oversight
Irvin and his coaches “blatantly violated myriad CPS and IHSA guidelines, and it ought to have been caught by the CPS Workplace of Sports activities Administration and the varsity’s administration,” the report stated.
An IHSA bylaw permits CPS to control its colleges. In keeping with the report, Kenwood and CPS Sports activities Administration failed to offer any significant oversight.
Lots of the Kenwood participant information had been lacking residency paperwork. One pupil’s file contained faux paperwork dated after the coed’s enrollment date. One other had paperwork itemizing a suburban handle.
There was no proof that residence visits had been accomplished for any of the gamers. One member of Kenwood’s workers stated the varsity had by no means seen a basketball participant’s enrollment supplies.
Kenwood principal Karen Calloway was a member of the IHSA Board of Administrators and CPS Sports activities Administration’s advisory council. The investigation’s proof confirmed that Calloway “had ample motive to be suspicious in regards to the fraudulent enrollment of basketball gamers on the faculty but didn’t take motion or report it.”
Calloway “reacted in several methods when confronted with points concerning her faculty’s basketball staff relying on her viewers. To the IHSA and complainants, she was a zealous defender of her student-athletes, however to the [CPS Inspector General] she was a indifferent administrator seemingly battling enrollment points.”
When reached Tuesday, Calloway informed the Solar-Occasions she must undergo CPS to make any feedback.
Whereas Kenwood ignored Irvin’s fraud, CPS Sports activities Administration was “unable and unwilling to meet its oversight duties,” in accordance with the report.
In interviews with the inspector common, CPS sports activities workers stated they may solely conduct investigations in the event that they obtained complaints. However CPS coverage authorizes proactive investigations.
Final season’s penalties
The inspector common first offered proof of 5 ineligible gamers to CPS and the IHSA on Jan. 25, 2024. Nothing was performed by CPS, and Kenwood was allowed to play within the metropolis match and superior to the championship sport Feb. 10.
CPS sports activities director David Rosengard declined to touch upon the scenario on the time and was fired in September.
On the primary day of the 2024 state match, the IHSA took motion and kicked Kenwood out of the playoffs. Kenwood appealed to the IHSA board, which dominated that it might play within the state match with out 5 ineligible gamers, two assistant coaches and Irvin.
Kenwood responded by requesting a brief restraining order in Cook dinner County Circuit courtroom, and Choose Caroline Moreland dominated in favor of the IHSA.
The impression
Kenwood’s ineligible groups superior to 2 supersectionals and two metropolis championships, knocking out dozens of groups alongside the way in which.
Since a lot of Kenwood’s ineligible gamers lived within the suburbs, they took spots from college students who lived within the neighborhood and needed to attend Kenwood, which is without doubt one of the greatest neighborhood colleges within the metropolis.
Fradulent enrollment has been a problem at Kenwood because it opened within the Sixties. CPS requires mother and father to offer two paperwork proving their present handle.
Kenwood is probably going not the one prime Public League basketball staff with residency points over the previous a number of a long time. Many former Public League stars went to suburban junior highs. It’s clear from the inspector common’s Kenwood investigation that CPS Sports activities Administration by no means had the right oversight in place.
The report says that CPS “should basically reform the way it oversees and regulates highschool sports activities,” and it ought to create a brand new place accountable for implementing compliance with CPS and IHSA guidelines.
In November, CPS stated it’s auditing its highschool student-athlete enrollment processes.
