Systematic Scholarship Discrimination In Illinois Public Universities Challenged By Equal Protection Project
Our Civil Rights Complaint to the Department of Justice involves at least seventy-seven (77) scholarships and programs across seven institutions, including the flagship University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Our Equal Protection Project has challenged over 250 institutions regarding over 700 discriminatory programs and scholarships.
In our most recent filing, we filed a Civil Rights Complaint and request for investigation with the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice regarding systematic discrimination within the Illinois public university system involving at least seventy-seven (77) scholarships and programs across seven institutions, including the flagship University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
From the Complaint:
We write to request that the Department of Justice open a prompt investigation into systematic discrimination within the Illinois public university system involving at least seventy-seven (77) scholarships and programs across seven institutions, including the flagship University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The open discrimination at state higher educational institutions based on race, color, or national origin in violation of Title VI, and on the basis of sex in violation of Title IX, requires federal action.
The scholarships and programs at each of seven public universities are documented in exhibits appended to this complaint as Exhibits A–G, respectively. Each exhibit lists the number of discriminatory programs or scholarships identified at the institution, along with screenshots, links, and archived links.
Exhibit A. University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign (38) (page 10)
Exhibit B. Illinois State University (4) (page 29)
Exhibit C. University of Illinois Springfield (13) (page 32)
Exhibit D. Eastern Illinois University (1) (page 34)
Exhibit E. Chicago State University (4) (page 35)
Exhibit F. University of Illinois Chicago (1) (page 37)
Exhibit G. Western Illinois University (16) (page 38)
We then have a short summary for each school. Here are excerpts:
The evidence supporting this complaint and reflecting the pattern of discrimination across public universities in Illinois is set forth in the Exhibits and is briefly summarized below.
A. University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign (UIUC) (38)
UIUC offers thirty-eight (38) university-administered scholarships and fellowships that discriminate based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and sex.1 As detailed in Exhibit A, these programs include dozens of awards limited to or preferring applicants identified as “minority,” African American, Latino/Latina, or of specific national or ethnic descent (including Czech, Lithuanian, Chinese, Japanese, and other ancestries), as well as scholarships reserved exclusively for male or female students. Several awards combine both race- and sex-based eligibility criteria, such as scholarships limited to “male minority” or “female minority” students. Collectively, these programs span multiple departments and academic disciplines and represent a systematic pattern of race- and sex-based restrictions embedded within UIUC’s academic infrastructure.
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C. University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) (13)
The University of Illinois Springfield maintains a coordinated set of scholarships administered through its Women and Gender Studies program that collectively give preference to female students. As outlined in Exhibit C, this group of thirteen (13) named scholarships is awarded through the Office of Financial Assistance and is limited by sex, with no individualized, sex-neutral eligibility framework. Together, these awards function as a consolidated scholarship regime favoring one sex across multiple memorial and organizational funds.
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G. Western Illinois University (16)
In February 2024, the Equal Protection Project challenged sixteen scholarships at Western Illinois University (“WIU”) with the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights (OCR); that matter remains pending without action taken. As documented in Exhibit G, since that filing WIU has moved its scholarship listings behind a login requirement, limiting public access and preventing verification of whether the challenged scholarships remain active. See https://wiu.academicworks.com/users/sign_in [https://archive.is/wip/meGD2] (accessed December 16, 2025). We therefore request that, as part of this investigation, the Department of Justice act on the previously field OCR complaint and subpoena relevant records from WIU.
As we do in every complaint, we then discuss the law in detail and why diversity and other goals do not justify discrimination based on race, color, national origin, or sex. In conclusion, we ask:
The Department of Justice has the power and obligation to investigate the universities’ role in creating, funding, promoting, and administering these scholarships and programs—and, given their number, to determine whether Illinois state-level action is involved—and to impose whatever remedial relief is necessary to hold them accountable for unlawful conduct. This authority includes, if necessary, imposing fines, initiating administrative proceedings to suspend or terminate federal financial assistance, and pursuing judicial proceedings to enforce the rights of the United States under federal law. As the Supreme Court has observed, “[t]he way to stop discrimination … is to stop discriminating[.]” Parents Involved in Cmty. Sch. v. Seattle Sch. Dist. No. 1, 551 U.S. 701, 748 (2007).
Accordingly, we respectfully request that the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division promptly open a formal investigation, impose such remedial relief as the law permits for the benefit of those who have been illegally excluded from the Illinois public universities’ various scholarships and programs based on discriminatory criteria, and ensure that all ongoing and future scholarships and programming comport with the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.
Reminder: we are a small organization going up against powerful and wealthy government and private institutions devoted to DEI discrimination. Donations are greatly needed and appreciated.
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Comments
77 scholarships and programs!?!
Obviously the powers that be in Illinois don’t think the laws apply to them. They just keep on doing what they feel like regardless of any laws.
At some point, it’s time to hit them in the pocketbook, where it’ll really hurt.
Just asking them to do the right, legal thing isn’t working. They don’t care.
Where’s the ACLU on this? 🤡
All I have is questions and here is one of them. How is it that the law says you can’t do it that way, but when you knowingly do it that way, you are not charged with a crime and don’t suffer any consequences? I truly don’t understand. Why even have the law?
Well, excuse me, I guess there were two questions.
I have not read any pleading from the University of Illinois, but as I understand the argument, a university will claim that it does not discriminate if the total pot of financial aid is sufficient to give every applicant enough aid to cover their needs. For example, assume that a university has an aid formula that would give exactly $1,000 to the 7,000 students who applied for aid (unlikely). The 38 “minority restricted endowents” earn $38,000 and the rest of the financial aid budget covers $6,962,000 in aid to the other financial aid applicants. How is there discrimination if they label one student the “Coral Callis Goldstein Scholar” while all students are awarded money without regard to race, color or creed? Is there anything that says the endowment funds will be applied “on top of” the other financial aid funds? Is this just a gimmick to make donors feel good about their financial aid donations?
Justice Scalia says discrimination is “immoral.” Was the donor “immoral” when he made the discriminatory gift? Was the university “immoral” when it accepted the gift with discriminatory requirements? Should the University go to court under cy pres to get the criteria removed from the deed of gift? Or should the university move the data behind a paywall so that nobody can read the original intent?
Suppose in a future time, there is a national problem involving widespread discrimination against people with Irish heritage. Could Irish students file a Title VI complaint against a university if it failed to award the Irish-restricted scholarship “on top of” other available financial aid funds?