Report : Illinois politician Michael Madigan swayed University of Illinois to admit relatives of allies, donors
Chicago Tribune
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.
