U of I trustee denies admissions pressure

A University of Illinois trustee has denied ever intending to pressure admissions officers to allow unqualified students to enroll in the school.

Trustee Lawrence Eppley testified Tuesday before a state commission investigating admissions procedures at the university's Champaign-Urbana campus. Eppley says he now understands there were problems with the unofficial inquiries that he says functioned as an "underground recommendation system."

Eppley says the state commission is needed to "fix" the clout list. Gov. Pat Quinn formed the commission to investigate whether special treatment was given to politically connected applicants, known as "Category I."

After the Chicago Tribune reported on the "Category I" list in May, the university suspended it.