Stop Corrupt Admissions at The University of Illinois

We are deeply disappointed by revelations of a separate and unequal  admission system that has been in place at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

A recent Chicago Tribune investigation revealed a system of special consideration and more frequent admission to students advocated for by political connections.

In other words: the University administrators helped students cheat. They operated a separate set of rules and gave unfair advantages to students who happened to have powerful connections. As a result, the very administrators charged with educating young people to be ethical citizens and effective leaders failed to demonstrate either quality. 

We have reason not to trust the University to investigate itself, and it is unacceptable for the investigation to consist of an internal panel that includes and reports to the same trustees culpable for perpetuating the clout list in the first place.

As a result, we, the undersigned, demand immediate corrective action that includes, but is not limited to:

1. The appointment of a truly independent commission to investigate the extent of the shadow clout system and ensure that a clear and equitably enforced admissions process is put into place.

2. The resignation of University officials and trustees who partook in the shadow admissions system to ensure accountability to the the University's stakeholders (including current and past students, faculty, and Illinois taxpayers.)

 

We pledge to withhold financial support to the university until the university takes adequate corrective action which has been implemented within deadlines that are publicly stated.

 

The undersigned,

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ORIGINAL INVESTIGATION: "Clout Goes to College" http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-college-clout-storygallery,0,3636100.storygallery 

COMPLETE COVERAGE: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-college-clout-storygallery,0,3636100.storygallery

INVESTIGATION EXCERPTS:

1)Since 2005, about 800 undergraduate students have landed on the clout list for the Urbana-Champaign campus. It's unknown how many would qualify for entry on their own, but their acceptance rate is higher than average. For the 2008-09 school year, for example, about 77 percent were accepted, compared with 69 percent of all applicants.

That's in spite of the fact that patronage candidates, as a group, had lower average ACT scores and class ranks than all admitted students, records show.

In 2008, for example, freshmen on average ranked in the 88th percentile in their high school class, while clouted students ranked in the 76th percentile.


2) In one case, a relative of Antoin "Tony" Rezko, the now-convicted influence peddler for former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, got admitted after U. of I. President B. Joseph White wrote an e-mail stating that the governor "has expressed his support, and would like to see admitted" Rezko's relative and another applicant.

White's message to the university chancellor was passed on to admissions officials on the same day they entered a rejection decision for the Rezko relative. "He's actually pretty low," replied an admissions officer, referring to the applicant's ACT score and other credentials. "Let me know when the denial letter can go out."