U of I Clout List 2005-9

Those Dem connections pay off. Highland Park High School leads the list with 10. New Trier among the top. Reaction:

New Trier Township High School college counselor Jim Conroy said he was unaware seven of the school's 312 applicants were on the Category I list this year. However, he said he called the university this spring after a candidate with borderline credentials was admitted, and several classmates questioned the student's merits. "One of the kids came to me and said, 'Is this fair?' I called and found out ... it wasn't fair. I was told it was a connection [that got the student admitted]," Conroy said.

"All this reinforces the statement, 'It's not what you know, it's who you know,' " Conroy said. "That's the part I get more upset about."

How about merit as the sole criteria. What a concept.