**EXHIBIT 31.1**

 

**CERTIFICATION OFEXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN**

 

I, James E. Hyman, certify that:

 

1.                    I havereviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Cornell Companies, Inc. (the “registrant”);

 

2.                    Based on myknowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material factor omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, inlight of the circumstances under which such statements were made, notmisleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.                    Based on myknowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information includedin this report, fairly present in all material respects the financialcondition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, andfor, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.                    The registrant’sother certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintainingdisclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e)and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined inExchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d- 15(f)) for the registrant and we have:

 

a.               designed suchdisclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls andprocedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that materialinformation relating to the registrant, including its consolidatedsubsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularlyduring the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

b.              designed suchcontrols over financial reporting, or caused such internal control overfinancial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonableassurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparationof financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generallyaccepted accounting principles;

 

c.               evaluated theeffectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures andpresented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of thedisclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by thisreport based on such evaluation; and

 

d.              disclosed in thisreport any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting(as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) that occurred duringthe registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscalquarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or isreasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control overfinancial reporting.

 

5.                    Theregistrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our mostrecent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to theregistrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board ofdirectors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

a.               allsignificant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation ofinternal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely toadversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize andreport financial information; and

 

b.              anyfraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees whohave a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financialreporting.

 
| Date: May  10, 2006 | /s/ James E.  Hyman                |   |
|---------------------|------------------------------------|--------|
|                | James E.  Hyman, Chief Executive   |
|                | Officer and  Chairman of the Board |

 

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