CHICAGO – University of Illinois Trustee Lawrence Eppley said he never had a conversation with Chancellor Richard Herman about finding jobs for law school graduates in exchange for admitting a law applicant pushed "straight from the G," referring to ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Herman had testified before the Illinois Admissions Review Commission that the two did discuss that option, which was outlined in a series of well-publicized 2006 emails.

Commissioners on Tuesday also asked Eppley about a scathing email from assistant law dean for admissions Paul Pless, who complained about being forced to take underqualified students and the negative impact they'd have on the law school's rankings. It was forwarded to Eppley from Herman, who wrote, "Larry, give me a buzz when you have read this."

Eppley said that email came the same day the NCAA issued its final ruling on the Chief Illniwek issue, which commanded his attention for the next several weeks, so he didn't have a "specific recollection" of that email or a follow-up conversation with Herman.

"I never directed Richard to admit any student," Eppley said.

He said he wasn't sure what to make of that email exchange, adding, "Richard sometimes talks in code."

Eppley said he's written four formal letters of recommendation for law school applicants to the UI as trustee, and three of them did not get in.

"I don't think I had any special magic powers of persuasion," he said.

Unlike those letters, he said the informal "inquiries" he passed along did not involve advocating for a particular admissions decision for any student.

But commissioners questioned Eppley about another law school applicant he forwarded, the son of a fishing buddy. A letter from the father asks Eppley for his help as a "dear personal favor," adding, "I'd be deeply in your debt."

In his email to Herman, Eppley says the father is a "quality guy" and assumes the son is as well. Eppley said he "didn't view this as advocating."

"What did you expect your letter to do?" asked commission Chairman Abner Mikva.

"Take a look at it," Eppley replied, noting that subsequent emails showed law officials "loved him."

"I didn't say they ought to admit this student. These are their decisions," Eppley said.

The student was on track to be wait-listed until Eppley intervened, said commission staff attorney Ted Chung. It's clear from the dates that "your email causes the son to be admitted," Chung said.

Commissioners suggested a better policy would be to write back to parents and tell them trustees can't get involved, or instruct them to contact admissions directly themselves.

Commissioner Maribeth Vander Weele said the admissions requests appear to violate the state's ethics act, and she continued to push for a separate code of conduct for the university.