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 The new members are former Springfield Mayor Karen Hasara, Rockford
Dr. Timothy Koritz, retired Exelon executive Pamela Strobel and
Carlos Tortolero, president of the National Museum of Mexican Art.
Quinn also reappointed Edward McMillan, a southern Illinois
businessman who resigned from the board this summer.
"I think they all understand how important the university is," Quinn
said on Champaign radio station WDWS. "They know firsthand from
their educational experiences."
The governor appointed Christopher Kennedy and Lawrence Oliver II to
the board last week.
Seven trustees stepped down following reports that political
connections played a role in some admissions to the university.
James Montgomery and Frances Carroll refused calls to resign.
News reports in May revealed that the university tracked the
admissions applications of politically connected students through
the so-called Category I list, and that some members of the list
were admitted to the Urbana-Champaign campus in spite of substandard
academic credentials.
Quinn created the Illinois Admissions Review Commission to examine
the influence of connections on admissions. The commissions, after
weeks of review, recommended in early August that all nine trustees
step down, though it suggested Quinn might reappoint those who
weren't deeply involved.
McMillan resigned almost immediately, and David Dorris, Robert
Vickrey, Devon Bruce and Kenneth Schmidt stepped down after the
governor called on the entire board to quit.
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 Montgomery and Carroll refused to resign, saying they had done
nothing wrong. Quinn decided not to fight them, saying he wanted to
avoid a legal battle.
Quinn said Friday that the decision to appoint five university
graduates followed consultation with the University of Illinois
Alumni Association.
"The alumni association made a number of recommendations, and I
accepted quite a few of those," he said.
The commission was also very critical of university President B.
Joseph White and Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Richard Herman over
their roles in the admissions trouble and recommended that trustees
take a hard look at the performance of the two.
At a meeting on Thursday in Urbana, trustees are expected to start
doing that and taking other steps intended to prevent political
clout from weighing on future admissions decisions.
[Associated Press; By DAVID MERCER]
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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