Quinn says he's ready to name U. of I. trustees

Gov. Pat Quinn is ready to fill the five remaining spots on the University of Illinois board of trustees after most of the members resigned at his request because of an admissions scandal at the school.

Quinn said he intends to announce his picks Friday so a full board is in place for next week's meeting. But he won't say if any of the trustees who voluntarily resigned would be reappointed.

"I'm going to look at everybody," Quinn said Thursday after a groundbreaking ceremony for a new transportation hub in Joliet. "I think it's fair to everybody to look at everybody and make some decisions on it. We have to do that and move forward."

A state panel investigated how clout influenced university admissions and found that some unqualified students with political connections had gotten in. The panel said all nine trustees should resign as a result. Seven did, but two refused and Quinn decided against removing them to avoid a legal fight.

Ed McMillan, Quinn's first board appointee earlier this year before resigning after the admissions problems came to light, said Thursday that he hadn't heard anything from the governor's office.

McMillan, an alumnus of the school and a southern Illinois businessman, has said he would like to be reappointed and has been interviewed by the governor's staff. He also is the only board member Quinn has praised for his lack of involvement in the scandal, and the only one who critics of the trustees have said should be reappointed.

"I assume they're still interested; they keep asking questions," McMillan said.

Quinn last week named businessman Christopher Kennedy, a nephew of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, and former federal prosecutor Lawrence Oliver II to two of the board spots.

The governor said he doesn't think the two trustees who refused to resign -- James Montgomery and Frances Carroll -- would be marginalized on the new board.

"Everybody understands the University of Illinois comes first," Quinn said.