kash is gorgeous like asian girls

Third?

Third

I live in Chicago and am really getting sick of the story. If anything, U of I should be applauded for doing whatever it takes to get students jobs. I bet Loyola 2L wishes his/her school did that. Tit for tat is how the world works - might as well learn how to take advantage of it.

I find Kash very attractive. I would like more details on her body however.

N. Wacker Stud

Did you know that Blank Rome's managing partner is only 17 years old?

everybody in this story is wrong except the kids in the bottom 10% with pimpin' jobs.

of course U of I profs are sick of this series, it makes them look TTT

Its a story dumbasses. While it may go on at other places, it's not often there is concrete evidence of it. Here there was, providing evidence of the fraudulent scheme of things. You got caught, other universities are smart enough not to get caught.

You made your bed, now lie in it.

It proves that those of us from underprivileged, working class families still struggle to achieve the American dream. It's a disgrace to America and all that it stands for. You should all be ashamed.

And the sarcasm claims are outlandish. Re-read the emails. Although sarcasm can be an excuse to anything, and jobs may not have been secured for those who were admitted because of their families, the school still basically sold admissions slots for some student positions. Those who were politically connected, even if in the lower half of the class, probably had connections of their own to secure positions.

Disgusting and disgraceful on so many levels.

The professor's argument is a weak attempt to cover up the story. Not news worthy? Laughable. Between the Michael Jackson death controversy, former Sarah Palin clothing fiasco, etc. Do they really think a school entangling itself with those in political power to secure scarce jobs in a market where the unemployment rate is 9.5% is not news worthy? Give me a break.

i agree completely with comment 10

Last night I slept with a girl that went to NYU Law...... or was it..... NYLS??? I am so confused!

11=10

Hey #5, which Illinois politician is your mom/dad? Be sure to buy them an extra nice Christmas present this year for helping you sneak into U of I with your 155 LSAT.

Personally, I think the people who are best qualified (read: doing behind the scenes deals does not make you qualified) for school spots/jobs are the ones who should get them. But I'm just a crazy old-fashioned ninny who likes doing the right thing, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

I agree with 10. Further, the professors' writing style is awful. Are they alumni of the vaunted Chicago-Kent College of Law legal writing program?

So she's claiming the law school allowed unqualified folks in at the demand of the governor without anything in return.

So they are stupid pushovers instead of greedy bastards?

When writing an open letter to a mainstream newspaper (1) do not edit it (2) like a legal paper.

MysTTTal, your writing truly SUCKS

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@10 - Give me a break with your "those of us from underprivileged, working class families still struggle to achieve the American dream" crap. If you went to UIUC Law and didn't make it, it's because you're too dumb to cut it, not because some underqualified politically connected kids got in. I'll pit my underprivileged life against yours any day, and I'm doing just fine, thanks to the CoL.

I'm disappointed in the quality of the writing, given that 15 law professors authored the letter.

"Perhaps there are numerous infamously corrupt governors who exert pressure on public universities to admit politically connected students. And in those situations it is certainly possible that law school deans sarcastically cave to the pressure, in a tongue-in-cheek exchange for good jobs for the school's poor performing graduates."

Elie=win over U of I.

Oh no, the "academics" down in Champaign are upset!! Waahh!! The big bad wolf in Chicago has finally taken an interest in the goings on of the State's "flagship" university and discovered you guys are a bunch of douche bags. Gee, what a surprise! I went to U of I law when Heidi Hurd was hired. We all joked she would eventually ruin the law school. It took her a little longer than we thought!

Everybody's right. It is a story in Illinois. It does happen in many other public universities. Can't everyone just get along? Rodney King.

What is causing this ungodly pressure on my sphincter?

Wait, "I was only joking. It was sarcasm." Wasn't that Blagojevich's excuse? Gotta love Chicago-style politics.

Not sure she's being completely sarcastic, but... if you really were going to sell seats for jobs, you'd reply with a list of 10 or so unconnected and largely unemployable 3Ls and say "pick five of these, get em jobs, and your illegitimate child has a seat."

deals that can’t rely on the legal system for enforcement have to be secured upfront.

Lots of other people smuggle cocaine too. Why the #&@^ am I going to jail, and why is it in the news that they found two tons of blow on my yacht?

LEAVE HEIDI ALONE!

Mystal is Harvard.

You'd think the dean would know better than to put that in an email....how could someone training so many future doc reviewers not know this?

All:

Which is the best part about this story?

1. The fact that the bottomfeeders getting set up with baller jobs were probably, three years prior, politically "sponsored" applicants themselves, thus completing the vicious cycle?

2. The Dean is saying "I didn't do it" at the same time the professors are saying "So what if we did it...everyone does it?"

3. The failure of the law professors to pull out the obvious "you reporters are just jealous because none of you will have jobs in six months" argument...or for that matter, the failure of the journalists to call up the school/government and say, "we're going to run this uber-critical story about you...unless you get sweet jobs for our five worst reporters...and I mean high paying jobs where they don't care if we can write a coherent sentence."

We all know Illinois politics is corrupt. It's a good thing that none of our national-level politicians purposely chose to start their political careers in Chicago, when they have spent zero time in Illinois before.

umm, clearly paul pless took HH seriously, if no one else did. if ur associate dean doesnt get the joke, then who will?

More than spinning their wheels to write the Tribune, perhaps the College could invest in email etiquette courses for professors and senior administrators. Any person in the College who has held a professional job is taught on Day 1 not to write an email that would look bad on the front page of the Tribune, NY Times, or Wall Street Journal.

Heidi Hurd, who wrote the infamous jobs for grads email, is a starry eyed academic whose only paychecks have ever come from universities.

U of I law is the Cooley of Chambana.

U of I law is the Cooley of Chambana.

just shut the whole thing down

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I wonder if this is how Andy Martin got into U of I Law...

Get a job Sparkling Wiggle?

All I know is, I do not want to go to law school in Illinois. Politicians make me nauseous.

"Is that sarcasm or quid-pro-quo?"

Well, it doesn't seem to be quid-pro-quo. The normal exchange would be accepting the governor's pet in exchange for the governor's office securing employment for five graduates, presumably in government work. Hurd's reaction seems to suggest that the applicant is so stupid that the deal would require five amazing jobs in the private sector for students who otherwise would not qualify. Most likely Hurd made this offer in jest, not thinking that the governor would have the power to secure these private sector jobs.

This just goes to show what a shithole the University of Illinois is and what a bunch of assclowns it employs as professors. This never would have happened at Michigan. Go Blue!

I bet $1 million that all the people involved voted for Obama: Governor, deans, professors, students ... even the folks at the Chicago Tribune.

It may go on all the time (legacies, buying admission, etc) at private universities, but to occur so blatantly and with evidencec at a publicly funded university just turns the stomach.

In a country who'se higher education is so costly and must less available economically than many other countries, one likes to think that there are still great public universities at a lower cost available to strive in. To see the corruption like this reach a public university just speaks to the problem with higher education in America; unavailability of decently priced options to lower income students, increasing student debt, admissions determinations based not on the best applicant; hidden application qualifications, etc. It turns the stomach.

I'm just ashamed of the school, government, and immaturity of these "16 distinguished professors" on so many levels.

Basically, this memo tries to justify corruption and attack news reporting. Both arguments fail and seem to justify unequal opportunities based on status. That's not the America I'm proud to be a part of.

Further, as a state univerisity I find it hard to believe it's not news considering the taxpayers money goes to the salaries of these corrupt (or if sarcastic, then highly unprofessional) administrators or petty professors.

Elie,

You missed the benchslap delivered in retirement RE: "I was only being sarcastic" excuse...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-u-of-i-clout-college-07-jul07,0,370456.story

Herman tried to downplay the exchange as "sarcastic and facetious," a defense that riled commission chair Abner Mikva, a former federal judge.

"I love jokes, but I have to tell you that this isn't something I would think you would want to joke about or Dean Hurd would want to joke about. The law school was giving up something of importance. When you were asking for something to compensate you weren't joking. That was a serious request," Mikva said.

"That would be a fair characterization," Herman replied.

Herman said he discussed the jobs only after being forced to admit the student and said there was no "bargaining beforehand."

"I like euphemisms," Mikva said. "But sometimes you have to say a spade is a spade, a cow is a cow."

Is Chicago in Illinois?

44 didn't finish his point so I'll finish it for him- therefore Obama is the worst person ever and this is all his fault

Illinois' conduct as the public T1 school in the state of Illinois has long been shameful. The legacy students are probably the only lower qualification in-state students that school has admitted in the last five years.

Seriously, a smaller class than any of your Big 10 peers in a much larger state, and mostly made up of extremely high scoring out-of-state applicants who you are trying to convince you are a T14.

Public university?

31 - I vote for option 3 as the best part of the story.

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PE is an alum of U of I. He is very close to passing the North Carolina bar exam. Third time should be the charm.

The more they respond and deflect the worse they look. It is time for heads to roll to preserve the rep of this school such that someday they may get ABA accreditation.

The operations of each Illinois college and university is overseen by governing boards whose responsibilities are overseen by state law.

On June 10, 2009, Governor Pat Quinn signed an Executive Order creating the Admissions Review Commission. Comprised of seven public-minded Illinois citizens with stellar reputations and diverse professional experiences, the Commission will review claims that certain applicants to the University of Illinois received special treatment based on political connections and recommend reforms to improve the fairness and transparency of the admissions process.

Not news? The govenor issued an executive order to investigate the matter. Are you fuckin retarded?

This would never happen at BC

1) The profs' letter is riddled with usage, grammar and punctuation errors. Could they not have given it to someone with a proper understanding of the basic rules of written composition? I stopped counting examples of poor writing at 25.

2) They make the naked assertion that what is alleged is morally unobjectionable and then proceed to show how the allegations are untrue. Why go to such lengths to smoke out negative implications and improper deductions if you don't think the conclusion is bad?

3) Since when do politicians have good judgment? Do these professors honestly believe that a politician's reference is made after an objective evaluation of a candidate's suitability?

4) The sarcasm defense is laughable. Perhaps it was said sarcastically itself?

5) I'll never hire a UILaw grad.

31 - Option 2 is best part of story.

There's some dumb profs at that law school. The open letter just confirms that they work at a sleazy school in a sleazy state.

Any time there's government largesse, there's sleaze.

31 - Option 2 is best part of story.

There's some dumb profs at that law school. The open letter just confirms that they work at a sleazy school in a sleazy state.

Any time there's government largesse, there's sleaze.

Those faculty members who signed this lame letter are hacks. You won't find Leipold's name on there.

"Help me Obi Wan Kinports . . . you're our only hope."

“University administrators make easy targets. They are after all academics – mathematicians, philosophers, business scholars - “

That just pisss me off. Do not try to frame the administrator as some philosophy professor who just wandered off the street. This is the Dean of a LAW SCHOOL, who herself holds a law degree. To make the argument she is merely an academic and has no choice but to get bullied around is preposterous.

Also, you would think law professors would come up with a better argument than "it happens all the time." If I wrote that as a suggested defense on an exam I'm fairly sure it would garner an F.

Was the Vanillanova dean being sarcastic when he asked and paid for a BJ?

Was the Vanillanova dean being sarcastic when he asked and paid for a BJ?

The obvious sarcasm was apparently lost on Elie's tin ears as well.

46 - nailed the sarcasm issue...edit Elie?

So a state school traded admissions slots for state jobs? Sounds like a great plan to me.

I also love the argument that this is actually good for all involved. School gets jobs, students get jobs, etc.
I'm sure those more qualified applicants who got passed over based on this policy thinks it's good for all as well.

I also love the argument that when making admissions decisions opinions of others are always taken into account. I'm sure my daddy the construction worker, if he called to recommend me for admissions somewhere would be listened to and his opinion given consideration in my application process.

A justification of corruption? Weak argument.

I would've had more respect if these guys just told me what my dad always said "life's not fair"

This makes me think of the Latham NY bfps.

"You can't eat a Pulitzer Prize."

No, but I'm sure you've tried, fatso.

Sorry, that was just mean.

- 67

From today's Tribune, so I'm sure the sarcasm comment can now be officially deemed a blatant lie. And it seems there is proof that the jobs went to the lower ranked students with clout. I think it's time these 16 professors took their foot out of thier mouth.

"The University of Illinois' favoritism toward students backed by powerful sponsors must come to an end, the principal enforcer of the campus' secret admissions system testified Monday.

Chancellor Richard Herman took responsibility for the special treatment given to students with political connections but weak academic credentials. He also acknowledged trying to mitigate damage to the law school by seeking jobs for graduates and thereby improving the school's job-placement rate.

During his more than two hours of testimony before a state commission investigating admissions abuses, Herman described the practice as "not equitable and transparent."
Herman faced tough questions about his role in admitting an unqualified law school applicant backed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2006 while seeking a promise from the governor's go-between, university trustee Lawrence Eppley, that five law school graduates would get jobs.

Herman said he requested the jobs from Eppley, an attorney, "out of extreme frustration" over the directive to admit the applicant, who the Tribune has reported was a relative of one of Blagojevich's deep-pocketed campaign donors. Another one of the donor's relatives had been pushed into the law school two years earlier and ranked in the bottom quarter of the class, a school official testified Monday.

The following morning, he and then-law school Dean Heidi Hurd discussed the jobs for low-ranking students in e-mails in which they bemoaned the political pressure but appeared to succumb to it. Herman tried to downplay the exchange as "sarcastic and facetious," a defense that riled commission chair Abner Mikva, a former federal judge.

"I love jokes, but I have to tell you that this isn't something I would think you would want to joke about or Dean Hurd would want to joke about. The law school was giving up something of importance. When you were asking for something to compensate you weren't joking. That was a serious request," Mikva said.

"That would be a fair characterization," Herman replied.

Herman said he discussed the jobs only after being forced to admit the student and said there was no "bargaining beforehand."

"I like euphemisms," Mikva said. "But sometimes you have to say a spade is a spade, a cow is a cow."

The US is not a meritocracy people. Ready to pick up the pitch fork yet?

Law school admissions dean Paul Pless testified Monday that 24 underqualified applicants -- about 3 to 4 percent of the student body -- gained entry during a recent four-year period because of political connections. If left to their own merits, the candidates would have been rejected, he said.

I bet you these politically connected mouthbreathers got pretty good jobs after they graduated.

TEAR THIS COUNTRY DOWN

@71

and what about the Latham NY bar failing partner's son who didn't get laid off when the rest of the bar failers did? sounds like this crap is an epidemic in this country.

73 - I think 71 was joking. Public university vs. Private job. Shut the fuck up! We know you're bitter, angry, and pathetic.

56 "I'll never hire a UILaw [sic] grad."

Must be a person who was rejected from UIUC Law because he didn't have quite enough clout. Also, if you're going to criticize the grammar skills of others, you could at least use proper grammar yourself.

And as a fairly recent UIUC Law grad, I too am embarrassed by this email. While there was probably little they could have done to prevent the clout admits, there is no reason to write a whiny email in defense of what was obviously inappropriate behavior. Moreover, the letter was poorly written.

Thankfully, there are many professors who I greatly respect (such as Professor Leipold) whose name does not appear on that letter.

Oh, and 56, no one really cares if you would hire a UIUC grad. If you have time to comment on a blog that consists almost exclusively of law students and recent graduates, then you probably have no real hiring authority to begin with.

If you don't live in Illinois and haven't been following this story from the beginning, then you might not realize that the story started with a report on undergraduate admissions that were influenced by the Governer and other politicians. The law school participation in this scheme came out of a deeper investigation into the overall University admissions investigation.

The law school was not targeted here as suggested in the boo-hoo, poor-me letter from the law school professors. The entire University has shown to be affected by these clouted admissions. They just haven't found (or can't undelete) the emails from the Business, Medical, and other graduate schools.

As Illinois undergrad alum, what pisses me off most about this story is that the University staff and faculty always stressed how the admissions process was influence-free. Clearly, that is not the case and many qualified applicants had to go somewhere else because of these d-bags. I'd like to punch these law professors and other admission staff with knowledge of these clouted admissions in their weak heads.

If Hurd and the other admissions staff in the law school and other departments really had a problem with this at the time, they could have taken the standard academic route and leaked the story themselves. But they did not and instead went along with the BS admission process. Screw 'em. They need to dump Chancellor Hermann and any of the other faculty with knowledge of this.

This is so typical of Illinois and Chicago politics (and soon enough, the federal government).

I agree that academics may be easy targets, but that does not excuse thier behavior. Maybe if someone at U of I had gone to the Tribune when the university was being presured by the governor's office this story would have a different "villian".

I am a Chicago lawyer. I am sick to death of the politicians and thier children getting everything in this town. And those with no direct political power just buy it. It is so hard to believe that I would not believe it if I was reading this story somewhere other than Chicago.

Bottom line - don't play in the big league if you can't take the heat. Maybe those of you in academia should pop your heads out of the hole every now and then and take a good look at the real world.

Corruption = good

Free press = bad

MysTTTal needs to update this post with the new Trib article.

77, this isn't just Chicago buddy, this is how things work in the good ole US of A. you want things to change, then ordinary people need to put down the McNuggets, get off the couch and demand more.

ELIE. the Latham NY BFPS went to his dad's law school. please investigate how he got in. TYIA.

I don't know about you, but I plan to be very rich one day. Throughout history it has been sh1t like this that riles up the underclass mobs and leads to rich folk losing their heads.

Now one incident in one inflated big name law school won't matter. But the mentality of those professors may indicate a meme among the country's string holders that will not bode well in a crashing economy.

@ 74

Hi Latham BFPS!

No, it's the same thing buddy.

whiny fucking bitches. Instead of calling for reform they just complain about the coverage like there is "no story"

whiny fucking bitches. Instead of calling for reform they just complain about the coverage like there is "no story"

I am not sure what is more offensive - the actions that are the subject of the Tribune stories (accepting underqualified politically connected students in exchange for jobs) or the response of the "professors". I am shocked at thier comments (wanna be Woodward and Bernsteins. etc.).

Saying "well, so and so did it first" or "you're just jealous - you're a wannabe" is such a childish response. In fact, I would expect better behavior from my 4 year old, nevemind "academia".

This is a reflection on the state of the state of Illinois.

elie and 90% of the genius commentators fail again.

please, someone explain to me again how asking for the governor's job in exchange for admitting a student can be construed as a serious request. what kind of la la land do you people live in?

just another example of rampant confirmation bias rearing its head.

86, is this a flame Hurd post?

What about racial preferences in admission? This is in response to political and legal pressure. Blacks and other minorities regularly are admitted even though they barely can read or write, much less engage in challenging intellectual thought. How is this any different from letting in the children of politicians, the same politicians who opened the doors to unqualified Blacks to be admitted. The entire system is corrupt, from top to bottom, and everyone knows it, so what's the big deal.

88: there's a little thing called a Supreme Court. They made this little thing called a decision that allows minority preference for past discriminations. Something about racial diversity in student populations are ok.

Suddenly, investigative reporting of nepotism and cronyism isn't stylish anymore. These academics spent eight years whining about how the press wasn't hitting hard anymore, but now that the microscope is directed at them, they cry foul.

Poor baby.

WAAAH!!!

I didn't get into an overrated state school at which I would have been in the bottom 3-4% because someone ever so slightly less qualified than myself had political conections. Its not fair, I thought everying thing was supposed to be completely based on merit and had no idea that people with clout could do something like this.

WAAH!!!

86 - You must have missed the Tribune article this morning in which the Chancellor admitted that the "jobs" bit was serious.

91, shut your filthy mouth. people shouldn't get that which they didn't earn.

what the fuck does a degree from this shithole mean if any tard can buy his way in?

That letter pisses me off. Sure pressure is often applied on admissions by those with power but guess what? Many schools don't give in, like the one I work at now. We even lost funding because of it but overall we're better off and unlike Illinois we have been climbing in the rankings.

And for those of you who are so naive as to think jobs weren't promised to well connected law students I suggest you look at some of the administration bios on their site.

The letter is notable for who didn't sign it: Leipold, Colombo, Tabb, Brubaker, or the current dean.

It is pretty common knowledge among law schools in the Midwest that Illinois engaged in whatever it takes to get ahead. How do you think they jumped so many places in the U.S. News rankings over the past 5 years? They've been playing games with the numbers. They might not have been lying outright, but they've definitely been using whatever techiniques are available to them to make the numbers look more favorable and to move up in the rankings.

So now that Chancellor Richard Herman has come out and admitted to accepting unqualified students in exchange for jobs, is it fair to call Dean Hurd a lier?

96 = another rejected student without the credentials or enough clout to get in.

Your "pretty common knowledge" statement is so pathetic and meritless on its face that its not worth adressing. But if you're going to make a comment, at least get simple facts straight.. As a graduate of UIUC Law, I can assure you that its US News rankings have not significantly moved in either direction over the past 5 years (it has flucuated between the 23-28 range since 2003). Simple facts are not THAT hard to research, I promise.

You then acknowledge that UIUC Law may not have lied "outright" but have used whatever techniques were available to increase their rankings, yet you fail to give even ONE example of the law school administration doing anything dishonest or unethical. Great analysis.

God I hope you're not a practicing attorney. We don't need any more poor reflections on the legal community.

This story makes a mountain out of a molehill. Sure there was political pressure to admit a small number of students; that is nothing rare in law schools and hardly warrants the front page of the tribune. And Hurd's e-mails are obviously sarcastic...do you all really think that she expected 5 high paying jobs for people who couldn't think or pass the bar? How could the tribune think something that stupid? Labels are easy to throw and hard to remove. Hell, half of you people just see the story and assume its true, and then you're bitter because one or two connected people got special treatment and you didn't. The Tribune should be ashamed of itself for publishing such a shoddy hatchet job.

98=Paul Pless

NEWSFLASH!!!

People with clout have access to opportunities not available to those without clout. In related news: the grass is green, bears shite in the woods, and people have an innate ability to whine and moan over every trivial matter.

Wow is this not even a scandal. Tribune has no idea what journalism is.

98 - Illinois gets flamed because:

1. Smaller number of students than any other state law school in the same general rankings range (other than similar ranking BSer Alabama).

2. Bigger state than all other state schools mentioned above.

3. Pretentions that it is somehow significantly better than the Midwest peers (job placement, Vault Law School 25 and interview cutoffs do not agree at all, let alone when you adjust for Chicago alumni loyalty).

4. The perposterous 166 median LSAT for an alleged state school.

There is no damn difference between the Big 10 schools. Well, except for Illinois being apparently massively corrupt and admitting under oath to rankings manipulation.

99 - read this link and then tell me if it is a shoddy hatchet job. Chancellor Herman admits it all, but gives the "it depends on how you define it" defense.

"The following morning, he and then-law school Dean Heidi Hurd discussed the jobs for low-ranking students in e-mails in which they bemoaned the political pressure but appeared to succumb to it. Herman tried to downplay the exchange as "sarcastic and facetious," a defense that riled commission chair Abner Mikva, a former federal judge.

"I love jokes, but I have to tell you that this isn't something I would think you would want to joke about or Dean Hurd would want to joke about. The law school was giving up something of importance. When you were asking for something to compensate you weren't joking. That was a serious request," Mikva said.

"That would be a fair characterization," Herman replied.

Herman said he discussed the jobs only after being forced to admit the student and said there was no "bargaining beforehand."

"I like euphemisms," Mikva said. "But sometimes you have to say a spade is a spade, a cow is a cow."

Commissioner Doris Lowry also chided the chancellor's actions. "Once the bargaining opportunity presented itself, you chose to bargain," she said."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-u-of-i-clout-college-07-jul07,0,370456.story

103 --

Another Illinois Law reject. Your post is simply idiotic. According to you, "there is no damn difference between the Big 10 schools." REALLY, so there is no difference between UMICH and Northwestern and, say, Penn State law school? Please.

As for your concern "pretentions," I'm not really sure where you are getting that from. I went to U of I law, and didn't find too many people to be pretentious.

I'm not saying that U of I is any better or any worse than similarly ranked Big Ten schools. The reason why it may be slightly more competitive than others is that a lot of people want to practice in Chicago, and more Chicago employers (particularly small and mid-size firms) are likely to participate in OCI and hire from U of I compared to other similarly ranked Big 10 schools.

Your post seems to acknowledge this with your "Chicago loyalty" comment. There are simply more U of I law grads practicing in Chicago than most other Big Ten schools (with the exception of Northwestern and, I think, Michigan). How, exactly, does that make U of. I pretentious?

Stop being so bitter.

Yes, 105, everyone that criticizes Illinois is a rejected applicant. Nice straw man. The main way that Illinois manipulates the rankings is by having the fewest number of students of any school in the Big 10, despite being the flagship public law school in the most populous state in the Big 10. Read Dean Hurd's emails and observe the school's fixation on numbers. Look at the way they've handled this scandal and how the former dean said she was merely joking, when the chancellor was forced to admit under oath that they did, in fact, seek jobs in return for admitting unqualified students due to political pressure. After all of this, do you really believe that these individuals wouldn’t massage the numbers in any way they could? Also, I never bothered applying to Illinois and went to higher ranked law school, so the Illinois-reject straw man doesn't work with me. I’m just calling it like I see it.

Mystal. Good work.

U of I. Wow. That was pathetic. Not only was your first argument absolutely inane, I would say that most first year law students (at good schools at least) have far better writing skills. Thank goodness you weren't MY professors in law school.

Funny to see the U of I students here trying to save the prestige of their paper by acting like this is a trivial matter.

This isn’t a trivial matter. Law school is a big door that leads to big consequences on the future lives of far more than the individual student.

The UIUC law graduates posting here are very defensive. Is that because it's a shit school with a bunch of dumbasses?

U of C grad

she is a liar

104 - It is still a hatchet job. Sure there was some political pressure that they were responsive to, but that happens everywhere, and you are foolish if you think otherwise. It was only elevated to the level of scandal because the Tribune decided to run it like a huge muckraker on the front page for some bizarre reason. The fact that some politician did some grandstanding and the chancellor bent over a little bit in response to pressure doesn't change that it is a hatchet job. It really was a non-story. I don't see why on earth anyone could possibly care except for the Illinois students, faculty and grads on these comment boards who work as hard as anybody else at other law schools and are seeing their school get dragged through the mud over some bullshit.

So let's get this straight:
1. U of I works the system to increase its ranking, just like every other law school (and any school, for that matter) in the country, and is promptly lambasted for succeeding and increasing its rank. Great logic.
2. Everyone commenting on this blog whines that there are too many law graduates, yet criticizes U of I for having a smaller class size. Makes sense.

Criticize the deans, administrators, and faculty for this whole mess; they certainly deserve it. But you people hiding behind "guest" pseudonyms and fraudulently identifying yourselves as "U of C grad," "UMich grad," etc. (like it really matters--everyone knows that school pedigree means nothing once you make it to practice, further reinforcing the fact that you whiners are nothing but prestige-whore law students with no other endearing qualities to hold onto wasting away with no work to do this summer--good luck with the no offers) need to take a step back and think about why you're so angry that you feel the need to disparage an entire school and its graduates for no reason whatsoever.

112 may be on to something. You all have fancy law degrees, but you come on here an squabble like 11 year olds in a chatroom.

112 = 111 = 105 = 98 = 86

Dean Hurd is a liar, and not a very bright one to put such blatant lies in an open letter to a newspaper.

The professors look like whining idiots and are shockingly poor writers. Apparently university professors are easy targets too, and no wonder. But you've got to laugh when law professors--snobs among snobs-- accuse another institution, in such a flailing and dramatic fashion, of wanting people to bow down before its alter? Hilarious!

To all of you people saying this kind of thing happens everywhere. No, it doesn't. In other places, the Governor does not try to sell senate seats or end up more often than not in jail. That is why "chicago politics" and "the chicago way" are a punch line to the rest of the country. I'm not from here; I don't accept that and never will.

Good for the Tribune. Shine the light on these fuckers.

114=85=34=15=2

Look, I can use equal signs too!

96, you are an idiot. 112 is correct, all schools do what they can to manipulate the numbers in an attempt to move up in the bullshit rankings list you children care so much about on the on hand, yet make fun of and bash on the other. If you school doesn't, it must be comfortable with mediocrity.

There are obviously some very ethical people at UIUC. Instead of demanding some level of accountability for those behind this scandal, the professors at the law school blame the newspaper for engaging in investigative journalism and running the story on the front page instead of burying it on page 24A. Then the students come on here and say, "What's the big deal? This kind of stuff happens everywhere." Good to see professors and students holding their institution to the high standards that the profession demands--or at least should demand.

I agree with 112. Why drag a whole institution through the mud? Pretentious comments such as the ones on here are what fuels the rankings and makes schools play the game instead of trying to find truly qualified candidates. The bigger outrage and story should be the fact that the whole law school admissions process strips a person down to two numbers, no one cares what kind of lawyer you will make and many graduates from top schools come out with no practical experience and without a clue about interacting with clients. Also, while I see problems with the letter, I commend the professors for taking the time to stand up for their institution. We should be hunting the bad seeds, not making blind attacks.

UI law student here- this just shows what a bullshit school I attend ,if Heidi Hurd is going to get shaken down, the least they should do is get something out of it for the students. the professors letter is bullshit as well, its a none story, everyones doing it, the Trib has an axe to grind because Heidi didn't call them back... gimme a fucking break.. its better we sell seats then we give them away and no one denies we gave away 24 seats in last 3 years. This is why anyone with 170+ gets into U of I law and 164. 4.0 Illinois Kids gets shut out.. they gotta play the diversity game, admit politically connected kids.. and keep their average LSAT at 166. Sickened that I go to such a fucking joke of a law school

120, you do know that you don't have to go to U of I Law, right? If you're so sickened by it, why not transfer or just drop out.

As 112 said, every school tries to manipulate rankings. That's why every other public school ranked in the mid top tier will take a 170+ LSAT and may not take a 164 LSAT, 4.0/undergrad state student. I'm not saying its right, but don't delude yourself by thinking that U of I is the only school that does this.

I, too, am a University of ILL school of law student and we are TTT. Why did I choose such a sh*tty school? am I right? I am ashamed. Look at my poor grammar. This school is not teaching me a thing. Down with our current dean, Heidi Herd.

U of C...I mean U of ILL school of law grad...err, student.

Wow 109...are all University of Cincinnatti grads as classy as you?

If anything, this scandal has made U of I Law look more exclusive than it really is.

If anything, this scandal has made U of I Law look more exclusive than it really is.

123- I've been to Cincinnati, but I would say the answer is probably no. I knew at guy at Chicago from there who referred to himself as the Long Dick Daddy from Cincinnati.

A few comments from a U of I COL grad...

(1) I believe that - to some extent - "special admissions" happen at every university (public or private). It is absolutely wrong and it disgusts me that young men and women who spend a lot of time, effort and money trying to get into a good law school are kept out by such underhanded tactics and such alarming stupidity (here, Hurd's and Herman's). To those who have commented above that such things would never happen at their school: get real. It is happening all over and the U of I professors who wrote/signed that letter were wrong for condoning it.

(2) Please also note that this rather pathetic rebuttal from some of the College of Law's faculty was more notable for its absence of signatures. Missing from the list is current Dean Bruce Smith, Andrew Leipold, John Colombo, Richard Kaplan, and Wayne LaFave, among others. These are incredible people and world-respected professors. In particular, Professor LaFave is a nationally recognized expert on criminal procedure; if any readers out there are current law students, skim through your CrimPro book - his name will be pasted throughout. In fact, many of the the signatures that DO appear on Ribstein's response are from faculty that were not even at the COL during Hurd's tenure as Dean. Also, for those who aren't aware, one signer - Prof. Michael Moore - is Hurd's husband (or ex-husband now, for all I know).

(3) While I was at the COL, a few professors confided to their classes (and/or to me personally) that there was a sense of foreboding regarding former Dean Hurd's ambition regarding fundraising and whether she was actually qualified or prepared to be Dean. There were clear divisions amongst the faculty inasmuch as some supported Hurd (either because of their own belief in her or their own acquiescence to her and her husband's "power") and others were truly worried about the direction in which she was taking the school. The petty discussions about LSAT scores (or is is another form of dick-wagging?) and who got into which school miss the real problem behind this scandal: how did the COL allow someone as unqualified and as unethical as Hurd to reach such a position of power in the first place?