CHICAGO (AP) -- According to a published report, a campaign adviser to state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias helped a politically connected applicant get in to the University of Illinois.

The Chicago Tribune reported Friday that the applicant had ties to a politically connected Greek Orthodox priest.

The Rev. Alexander Karloutsos says he reached out to Giannoulias adviser Endy Zemenides. He, in turn, e-mailed a university provost in February 2008 on the student's behalf.

The teen was subsequently lifted from the school's waiting list and accepted.

Zemenides says he wasn't acting as a representative for Giannoulias. And a spokesman says Giannoulias knew nothing about the admissions inquiry.

After the student's admission, the priest helped with a Giannoulias fundraiser that brought in $120,000.