By Zach Brown, Editor
In a scandal that rocked the state of Illinois, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been admitting underqualified students whose parents had political connections, including two students from Kaneland High School, as discovered by a Chicago Tribune investigation. The Tribune’s investigation was followed by an investigation by Gov. Pat Quinn.
“I’m really disappointed that they’re letting in underqualified people,” counselor Andrew Franklin said. “This just adds to the notches of Illinois corruption.”
The number of students admitted through what has been called “Category I” from the Kane County area was generally low, usually one or two students per school. The highest numbers came from wealthy north suburban high schools, such as New Trier in Winnetka, which had 19 students admitted in Category I, including seven from 2009.
While the number of students from each school admitted based on clout rather than standard admission criteria has been released from each school, the identities of those students have not been released by the university.
“It’s kind of bad for the people who want to go [to U of I], because of the people who should have gotten in. Hopefully, they can make it more fair because of this,” senior Abby VanDerHeyden said.
“Shame on them for the kid that should’ve gotten in and didn’t,” Franklin said. “Just imagine if your whole family was alumni and you get declined, and you later find out you shouldn’t have been.”
Gov. Quinn is now demanding the resignation of the entire board of trustees. Six of the 13 have resigned so far. Under pressure from the governor and the media, U of I has formed a committee to investigate the problem.
“We are committed to ending any misuse of the admissions process—whether it is intentional or unintentional—wherever it may exist, or from whomever it may emanate, including the university board of trustees,” the University of Illinois board of trustees said in a press release.
“If you were involved, you need to lose your job. If you’re not, leave them alone,” Franklin said. “Go after the people that were doing the wrong thing, and get rid of them. They need to improve themselves from this to make themselves once again respected.”