Blago used clout to get Rezko relative into University of Illinois

Antoin "Tony" Rezko is the convicted political fixer who played an key role in the play-to-pay scandals of ousted Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Rezko was also Barack Obama'a first political sponsor.

Today's Chicago Tribune reports on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's "Category I" list of preferred applicants, usually relatives and family friends of politicians, who were accepted into by the U of I despite low grades and ACT scores.

Hundreds of applicants received special consideration in the last five years, according to documents obtained by the Tribune under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The records chronicle a shadow admissions system in which some students won spots at the state's most prestigious public university over the protests of admissions officers, while others had their rejections reversed during an unadvertised appeal process.

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."

Instead, the relative was admitted.

Students accepted by the U of I on average are in the 88th percentile of their high school class, but Category I applicants on average were in the 76th percentile.

This is not the first time my alma mater has embarrassed itself, as you'll read below.

UPDATE May 30: The U of I says they will correct the "clout admissions" program.

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