Judge: U. of I wrongly withholding student names

CHICAGO — A federal judge has ruled that the University of Illinois can't use a federal privacy law to withhold the names of college applicants on a list of politically connected students at the heart of an admissions scandal.

The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Joan Gottschall ruled in the newspaper's lawsuit against the university that the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act doesn't require that students' names, grade-point averages and test scores be withheld. The newspaper sought the names as part of its admissions reporting.

University spokesman Tom Hardy called the ruling a setback for privacy rights. The school hasn't decided its next step.

The 2009 scandal over the admission of well-connected but underqualified students cost most university trustees their positions and President B. Joseph White his job.