Former dean alleges abuses of power

CHICAGO, July 9 (UPI) -- Former University of Illinois law school Dean Heidi Hurd testified top state and school officials abused their power to admit a student into the school.

Hurd, who is now a law professor at the University of Illinois, alleged before a state commission ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich, along with school Chancellor Richard Herman and Trustee Lawrence Eppley, abused their positions while she was dean, The Chicago Tribune said Thursday.

Hurd alleged Herman and Eppley put pressure on her to admit a student into the law school who was not qualified for admittance. The student reportedly had financial ties to the former governor.

"I was incensed because we had just been steamrolled by what I felt to be an abuse of an official office," Hurd alleged Wednesday. "I took it to be the case that there had been a top-down gubernatorial fiat. I was incensed at Trustee Eppley and incensed at Herman not to muscle back."

The Tribune reported university documents and commission testimony allege Herman attempted to calm Hurd's concerns by offering increased scholarships and five secured jobs for school graduates.