Jesse Ruiz, the acting superintendent of Chicago public schools, suspended the controversial $20.5 million no-bid contract to SUPES Academy. Superintendent Barbara Byrd-Bennett has taken a leave of absence while the contract is investigated because she worked for SUPES before she took the leadership role in Chicago. However, Ruiz voted for the contract and defended his vote.

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Acting Chicago schools boss Jesse Ruiz announced Wednesday that the district was suspending payment on a $20.5 million no-bid contract at the center of a federal criminal probe, but he also defended his own vote for the 2013 deal in his role as vice president of the Chicago Board of Education.

Speaking at the first board meeting since news of the investigation broke last week, both Ruiz and board President David Vitale sought to calm concerns over their support of the controversial contract with an executive-training company tied to schools CEO Barbara Byrd-Bennett. She took a leave of absence Monday amid the federal probe, and Ruiz was chosen to become acting CEO.

Vitale said the school system followed specific procedures for reviewing a “sole-source” contract, which includes an extra layer of review to ensure standards are met, and the 6-0 vote for the deal with the SUPES Academy came after Chicago Public Schools “management” made the case for the “relatively unique” agreement.

When the deal was approved, there was “a great deal of public comment and concern about the nature of the contract,” he said. The board also was aware that Byrd-Bennett had worked for SUPES, Vitale has said.

“Shortly after the entering of this contract with SUPES Academy, in one of my meetings with the inspector general at that time, he and I agreed that there was enough noise around this issue that it is something that he should look into,” Vitale said during comments at the meeting.

Ruiz agreed with Vitale that the board followed its process and got answers to its questions before approving the deal.

“Given the information we had at that point in time, and given the information that we were provided as board members, I stand by that vote,” Ruiz told reporters before entering an executive board session where his appointment as interim CEO was formally approved.