Another club full of elected thieves and clouted whores to which you are not invited.
From the Chicago Tribune:
House Speaker Michael Madigan swayed University of Illinois to admit relatives of allies, donors
Many of the 28 applicants helped in three recent years would not have been admitted on their own merit
By Jodi S. Cohen, Stacy St. Clair, David Kidwell and John Chase, Tribune reporters
May 5, 2010
House Speaker Michael Madigan swayed the University of Illinois to admit the relatives of public officials, political allies and donors who contributed $115,200 to campaign funds he controls, a Tribune investigation has found.
Only five of the 28 applicants helped in three recent years by the state's most powerful lawmaker lived in Madigan's district, and many would not have been admitted on their own merit.
Among the beneficiaries: North Shore attorney Steven Yonover, a longtime contributor who has donated $71,800 to Madigan-related campaign funds. Three of Yonover's relatives enrolled at the U. of I. in 2008 and 2009 after being sponsored by Madigan. The two who applied for 2009 had been wait-listed, and one had the lowest possible rating given by the admissions office.
Madigan also helped a relative of Thomas Ryan, who in 2005 was convicted of stealing more than $100,000 from the south suburban school district he oversaw. Between 2002 and 2005, Ryan gave Madigan $1,000 and was treasurer of a state school organization whose political arm gave the speaker an additional $30,000. That's around the same time his relative vied for a spot, then enrolled in the U. of I. law school in 2004.
The Tribune investigation is the first detailed public examination of the relationships between U. of I. applicants who received preferential treatment and an elected official responsible for getting them on a secret admissions clout list. While the newspaper previously reported that Madigan's name was associated with more applicants than any other lawmaker, it couldn't determine whom he helped and how they were linked to him.
Now, the Tribune has been able to identify 28 applicants to the Urbana- Champaign or Chicago campuses backed by Madigan, 23 of whom were accepted for undergraduate studies as well as the law school and graduate programs.
Their relatives made direct campaign contributions totaling $50,000 to Madigan and $65,200 in federal and state donations to the Democratic Party of Illinois, which Madigan chairs. In addition, applicants' relatives sat on the boards of organizations when the groups' political action committees donated another $36,700 to those funds.
The speaker's daughter, Attorney General Lisa Madigan, also received $49,245 from those same individuals and PACs.
Combined, the donations totaled $201,145.
Michael Madigan declined to speak to the Tribune but released a statement saying he intervened in admissions cases to be responsive to his constituents and Illinois citizens when they asked for his help. Records show Madigan's office faxed, called and e-mailed university officials on behalf of the students.
...
Over and over again our City and State Gummints sledgehammer home to us one lesson above all:
If you work hard and play by the rules you are a fucking chump.
2 comments:
I taught at the University of Illinois for a couple of dark years in the late '90s. Recently I've begun to understand why so many of my students seemed to have such trouble writing their own papers.
But with as little as a college degree (let alone being knowledgeable and skilled in the use of that knowledge) is valued today (no, really!), this seems about right doesn't it?
And no one (among those in the club) would have one if they could be hired without it.
I'd say they won long ago when they succeeded in dumbing down the schools and then the populace's expectations (of excellence).
Just saying . . . .
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