Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:30 PMBy: UIUS Alumn Connected Kids At Elite High Schools I got a call earlier this week asking me to donate to UIUC, I told them that since I had to struggle for my acceptance to the school and did not get a free ride, that I would not be donating this year or any future year.
Oh and a blast from the past: Marybeth Vander Weele is one of the UIUC trustees. What a hoot. How did THAT happen?

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 12:52 PMBy: gh Connected Kids At Elite High Schools UIUS Alum--you sure she's a trustee? I think she's a member of the team investigating the scandal.

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 1:06 PMBy: Thanks gh Connected Kids At Elite High Schools I appreciate the correction. However, last I heard she was in Washington DC starting her own security business after she was hurried/hussled out of CPS. Just wondered how she got this UIUC gig. Never thought we would see her again. Anyone know how she got this 'job'?

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 2:01 PMBy: Ag school question Connected Kids At Elite High Schools How many from the ag school were accepted?

I understand quite a few black students get in through the agriculture department. Black students needed and all that.

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 2:17 PMBy: gh Connected Kids At Elite High Schools thanks gh--she did start a business in DC, but never moved from Chicago, to my knowledge. She's a good investigator, even if a bit wreckless at times. She's the right person to be on this panel as she is fearless and has integrity, imo.

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 7:07 PMBy: Catbus Connected Kids At Elite High Schools I'm not sure there's a story here, unless it's "People with clout in Illinois tend to live in the suburbs and/or send their kids to private schools," which is kinda "Dog bites man," if you know what I mean.

I don't think it reflects on the schools at all, except to the extent that the clout class considers some schools worthy of its kids and others not -- and you can't blame the schools either way.

Fri Jul 17, 2009 at 9:59 PMBy: zande infuriating The wealthy and privileged can and should pay for private school. Leave U of I to the kids who need it - and actually qualify! What's infuriating here is the abuse of the idea of the level playing field.The state flagship university,where kids from any background who work hard and study hard and play it straight, should be the place where those worthy students who have EARNED ADMISSION can get a very very good education and degree at a fraction of the cost of private colleges- as long as some idiot son of a trustee doesn't take their spot. It is cheating, cheating, cheating, greedy, and ugly. This is shameful and sets a horrible example for the students. The U of I people should be ashamed. The clout requesters should be really ashamed- oh I forgot they have none.
Does anyone think the selective enrollment high schools and the trendy elementary magnets are affected by this stuff? I guess I'd assume so since it looks like every other Chicago institution is infected with clout-itis, a contagious disease. Where, what is the vaccine?

Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 12:32 AMBy: George N Schmidt Connected Kids At Elite High Schools This entire story rests against two beliefs, both of which are false.

The first is that there is a meritocracy that should govern all access to the major four-year universities.

The second is that the meritocracy can best be measured by standardized test scores, in this case, the ACT.

American university education has always been first and foremost a privilege of the wealthy. Those few exceptions, for the briefest time in history (roughly, the end of World War II into the Reagan Revolution days) merely proved how constant the weight of wealth and privilege is, was, and probably will continue to be.

Having enjoyed the privilege of an academic scholarship to the University of Chicago in the mid-1960s, I can remember the slow dawning of the realization about those facts as I worked (two jobs; plus classes) to complete my BA.

Every American university has its "legacy" admissions. The most dramatic example since the beginning of the 21st Century was George W. Bush. Yale BA. Harvard MBA.

I don't recall the Chicago Tribune bemoaning the fact that one of our best-educated presidents (and our first "Business" president; remember that one?) was undercompetent and underqualified. Family wealth guaranteed those two slots to that drunken dolt. An family wealth assured him of "passing" in the classes he had to take.

But, then, there were other American presidents whose family wealth brought them into the best universities, and who paraded degrees from those universities. One whose name comes immediately to mind today is John F. Kennedy.

As one comment earlier noted: This is hardly a "Man bites dog story." Wealth buys political power. Political power buys admissions to public universities. Greater wealth and you can keep even the dimmest bulb on your family tree in the elite prep schools, and then make sure that they get their degrees, one way or the other, from Yale and Harvard.

Given all the things that the Chicago Tribune can spend its remaining investigative dollars on, this is interesting, but far from central to the problems of most Chicagoans. Some might even argue it's a diversion from the huge impact of huge wealth and even greater clout on every aspect of civic life today in Chicago. After all, more Chicago school children will be faced with disruption from Olympics 2016 than will ever face the issue of whether they did or didn't get into University of Illinois based on the quality of their high school work.

Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 1:20 AMBy: Clout at selective enrollment and Connected Kids At Elite High Schools lottery school. What about who you know to get into a CPS selective enrollment or a lottery school. It is out there too, another dirty little secret in CPS. And worse now that academic enhancement got too lazy and stopped sending the acceptance letters out from 125 instead of from the individual schools. Why Roz Rossi does not actually get the list only to see which students then enrolled vs invited vs. picked--sh accepts the BS about student privacy. Well, she isn't going to publish or release the student names. Like Alexander mantioned earlier--WTF.

Sat Jul 18, 2009 at 2:43 PMBy: Very hard to get into U of I Connected Kids At Elite High Schools My son's friend scored a 33 on his ACT and more than met the criteria for admission to U of I. He was wait listed-too many qualified applicants from his zip code. A former student of mine was accepted a year later with an ACT of 19. It is called building a class. U of I caters to/recruits foreign students or those from out of state-the tuition is higher.

Sun Jul 19, 2009 at 11:29 AMBy: Yes AG Connected Kids At Elite High Schools kinda of what the mayor and alderman are doing with chater schools. Look how much UNO donates to their politicos....

Sun Jul 19, 2009 at 6:43 PMBy: bob Connected Kids At Elite High Schools Shoot the hoop



We are all shocked by the revelation that clout can
Get you into Illinois. Has anyone done a follow up yet and
Determined if clout can keep you there? Why was a list kept
after acceptance?

To me the real disgusting part of all this is the fact that
Deserving kids have been rejected, while the connected
Students have gotten a pass. I have personally known
gifted athletes who find a way to get in to the university.
The NCAA finds ways to police the worst cases of this abuse
But who polices academia?

I hope this is only the tip of the iceberg and some of the
Other practices of our state are investigated, for example, the
grading of Illinois Bar Exam. I guess everything is for sale
in Illinois.

Sun Jul 19, 2009 at 7:42 PMBy: charter HS accredited? Connected Kids At Elite High Schools do IL charterHneed to have accreditation? Without it, I thought students cannot go on to an institution of higher ed after they graduate from an non=accredited HS.????

Mon Jul 20, 2009 at 12:49 PMBy: CPS parent Connected Kids At Elite High Schools clout got many of my classmates into preferrred universities/colleges back in the early 80's when I applied for college. None of this surprises me, not sure how anyone can be surprised. Not saying it is right, just isn't this surprise and secret that so many bloggers are mentioning.