Quinn: All University Of Illinois Trustees Should Resign

CHICAGO (AP) -- Gov. Pat Quinn urged the remaining members of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees to voluntarily resign on Friday, after a state panel recommended all trustees step down amid allegations some pressured the school on behalf of unqualified applicants.

Quinn said he wants a new board seated by September. Three members have already resigned.

"The trustees who remain on the board, the best thing for them to do would be to read this," Quinn said, with a copy of the Illinois Admissions Review Commission's report. "Take it to heart, voluntarily submit their resignations."

Quinn says he hopes trustees resign in the best interest of the university's reputation and "if that doesn't happen, I'll take a look at all my options." He said he hoped it would not come to that.

The governor said once he had the resignations, he would consider each trustee's case individually. Six trustees remain after the resignations of Niranjan Shah, Lawrence Eppley and Ed McMillan.

McMillan resigned Thursday after the commission report was released. Quinn had appointed McMillan in May and said Friday he would consider reappointing him.

Trustee Ken Schmidt, the longest-serving trustee, criticized the governor for asking for resignations in a news conference and said he hasn't decided what he'll do. He said he'd like to remain on the board and suspects some other trustees would as well.

"It's not that they covet the position," the 67-year-old doctor said. "They covet the work they've done and they don't want it to fall flat."

Of the other trustees, David Dorris has said previously that he would resign if asked by Quinn, while France Carroll has said she would consider stepping down if asked. Robert Vickrey has said he hasn't ruled it out. Three trustees were said to be traveling and unavailable for comment Friday; the others did not return calls.

Quinn formed the commission in June after the Chicago Tribune revealed that the university maintained a list of politically connected applicants - including some linked to former Gov. Rod Blagojevich - and admitted some over better-qualified candidates.

The investigation found some trustees pressured university officials on behalf of unqualified applicants, and that trustees, administrators and lawmakers helped get applicants' names on a special admissions list.

Quinn said "scores" of people have already volunteered to become trustees and he wants a new board seated by its next scheduled meeting on Sept. 11.

"It's important we have a full complement ready to go no later than that," Quinn said. "We want to become a model of fairness when it comes to admissions and how they're handled."

Quinn said he wants the new board to perform "a complete, immediate, through review" of the actions of school administrators.

The University of Illinois Alumni Association, which drew up a list of board candidates this year from which Quinn picked McMillan, plans to assemble another list, the group's Tom Livingston said. He said the association eventually hopes to have a more formal role in selecting trustees.

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Associated Press writer David Mercer in Champaign, Ill., contributed to this report.
-ASSOCIATED PRESS