| George Ryan | |
|---|---|
 Ryan in 2007 | |
| 39th Governor of Illinois | |
| In office January 11, 1999 – January 13, 2003 | |
| Lieutenant | Corinne Wood |
| Preceded by | Jim Edgar |
| Succeeded by | Rod Blagojevich |
| 36th Secretary of State of Illinois | |
| In office January 14, 1991 – January 11, 1999 | |
| Governor | Jim Edgar |
| Preceded by | Jim Edgar |
| Succeeded by | Jesse White |
| 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Illinois | |
| In office January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1991 | |
| Governor | Jim Thompson |
| Preceded by | Dave O'Neal (1981) |
| Succeeded by | Bob Kustra |
| 65th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives | |
| In office January 14, 1981 – January 10, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | William A. Redmond |
| Succeeded by | Arthur A. Telcser |
| Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives | |
| In office January 12, 1977 – January 14, 1981 | |
| Preceded by | James R. Washburn |
| Succeeded by | Mike Madigan |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 43rd district | |
| In office January 10, 1973 – January 10, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Multi-member district |
| Succeeded by | Judy Baar Topinka |
| Personal details | |
| Born | George Homer Ryan (1934-02-24) February 24, 1934 (age 90) Maquoketa, Iowa, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Lura Lowe
(m. 1956; died 2011) |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | Ferris State University (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1954–1956 |
| Criminal information | |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Conviction(s) | |
| Criminal penalty | Served over 5 years of a six-and-a-half-year sentence |
George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934) is an American former politician who served as the 39th governor of Illinois from 1999 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as secretary of State of Illinois from 1991 to 1999 and as lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1991. He was later convicted of federal racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud stemming from his time in office.
Ryan was elected governor in 1998, narrowly defeating Democratic Congressman Glenn Poshard. He received national attention for his 2000 moratorium on executions in Illinois and for commuting more than 160 death sentences to life sentences in 2003. He chose not to run for reelection in 2002 amid a scandal. He was later convicted of federal corruption charges and spent more than five years in federal prison and seven months of home confinement. He was released from federal prison on July 3, 2013.
Early life
George Homer Ryan was born in Maquoketa, Iowa to Jeannette (née Bowman) and Thomas Ryan, a pharmacist. Ryan grew up in Kankakee County, Illinois. After serving in the U.S. Army in Korea, he worked for his father's two drugstores. He attended Ferris State College of Pharmacy (now Ferris State University) in Big Rapids, Michigan. Eventually, he built his father's pair of pharmacies into a successful family-run chain (profiting from lucrative government-contract business selling prescription drugs to nursing homes) which he sold in 1990. Ryan was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1954. He served a 13-month tour in Korea, working in a base pharmacy.
On June 10, 1956, Ryan married his high school sweetheart, Lura Lynn Lowe (July 5, 1934 – June 27, 2011), whom he had met in a high school English class. She grew up in Aroma Park, where her family (originally from Germany) had lived since 1834. Her father owned one of the first hybrid seed companies in the United States. The couple had five daughters (including a set of triplets); Julie, Joanne, Jeanette, Lynda and Nancy; and one son, George Homer Ryan, Jr.
Lura Lowe died of lung cancer at Riverside Hospital in Kankakee on June 27, 2011. Ryan's brother, Tom, was a prominent political figure in Kankakee County. In addition, Ryan's sister Kathleen Dean's former son-in-law, Bruce Clark, is the Kankakee County, Illinois Clerk.
Early political career
Ryan began his political career by serving on the Kankakee County Board from 1968 to 1973 (his brother Tom J. Ryan was Mayor of Kankakee for 20 years from 1965 to 1985). He was then elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1972, where he served five terms. In 1976, he was elected House Minority Leader. As Minority Leader, Ryan led Republicans to win a 91-86 majority in the House in 1980; he was subsequently elected Speaker in January 1981.
.jpg)
In July 1981, Dave O'Neal, the lieutenant governor under Republican Governor James R. Thompson, resigned unexpectedly. To fill in the vacancy left by O'Neal's resignation, Thompson selected Ryan to be his running mate in the 1982 election. The Thompson/Ryan ticket narrowly defeated the Democratic ticket of Adlai Stevenson III and Grace Stern. Thompson and Ryan were both reelected to their positions in 1986. In 1990, Ryan was elected Secretary of State of Illinois. During his first term as Secretary of State, then–State Treasurer Pat Quinn was publicly critical of Ryan, specifically drawing attention to special vanity license plates that Ryan's office provided for clout-hungry motorists. This rivalry led Quinn in a failed bid to challenge Ryan in the 1994 general election for Secretary of State.
Governor of Illinois
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "George Ryan" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On August 30, 1997, incumbent governor Jim Edgar announced he would retire after his second term; three days later, Ryan announced his candidacy for governor. He won the Republican nomination with minimal opposition and defeated his opponent, Glenn Poshard, in the general election by a 51–47 percent margin. Ryan's running mate was first-term state representative Corinne Wood. Ryan outspent Poshard by a 4-to-1 margin. Poshard, a firm believer in campaign finance reform, placed limits on individual donations and refused to accept donations from corporate or special interests.
One of Ryan's pet projects as governor was an extensive repair of the Illinois Highway System called "Illinois FIRST". FIRST was an acronym for "Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools, and Transit". Signed into law in May 1999, the law created a $6.3 billion package for use in school and transportation projects. With various matching funds programs, Illinois FIRST provided $2.2 billion for schools, $4.1 billion for public transportation, another $4.1 billion for roads, and $1.6 billion for other projects. He also improved Illinois's technology infrastructure, creating one of the first cabinet-level Offices of Technology in the country and bringing up Illinois's technology ranking in a national magazine from 48th out of the 50 states when he took office to 1st just two years later. Ryan committed record funding to education, including 51% of all new state revenues during his time in office, in addition to the billions spent through Illinois FIRST that built and improved schools and education infrastructure. In 1999, Ryan sparked controversy by becoming the first sitting U.S. Governor to meet with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Ryan's visit led to a $1 million donation of humanitarian aid, but drew criticism from anti-Castro groups. In 2000, Ryan served as a chair of the Midwestern Governors Association.
Capital punishment
Ryan helped to renew the national debate on capital punishment when, as governor, he declared a moratorium on his state's death penalty on January 31, 2000.
This decision was heavily influenced by lawsuits filed by exonerated prisoners who made false confessions as a result of police torture under the direction of a police commander named Jon Burge. "We have now freed more people than we have put to death under our system," he said. "There is a flaw in the system, without question, and it needs to be studied." At the time, Illinois had executed 12 people since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977, with one execution, that of Ripper Crew member Andrew Kokoraleis, occurring early during Ryan's term. Ryan refused to meet with religious leaders and others regarding "a stay of execution" in light of the impending 'moratorium' and other facts relative to the 'flawed' capital punishment system in Illinois; in fact, under Ryan's governorship, 13 people were released from jail after appealing their convictions based on new evidence. Ryan called for a commission to study the issue, while noting, "I still believe the death penalty is a proper response to heinous crimes ... But I believe that it has to be where we don't put innocent people to death."
The issue had garnered the attention of the public when a death row inmate, Anthony Porter, who had spent 15 years on death row, was within two days of being executed when his lawyers won a stay on the grounds that he may have been mentally disabled. He was ultimately exonerated with the help of a group of student journalists at Northwestern University who had uncovered evidence that was used to prove his innocence. In 1999, Porter was released, charges were subsequently dropped, and another person, Alstory Simon, confessed and pleaded guilty to the crime of which Porter had been erroneously convicted. Simon himself was later released after serving fifteen years for the crime, after it was proven that he, too, was wrongfully accused.
On January 11, 2003, just two days before leaving office, Ryan commuted (to "life" terms) the sentences of everyone on or waiting to be sent to Illinois' death row — a total of 167 convicts — due to his belief that the death penalty could not be administered fairly. He also pardoned four inmates, Aaron Patterson, Madison Hobley and Leroy Orange (all of whom were interrogated by Burge and released), and Stanley Howard. However, Patterson is currently serving 30 years in prison after being arrested for drug trafficking he committed after his release from death row. Howard remains in prison for armed robbery. Ryan declared in his pardon speech that he would have freed Howard if only his attorney had filed a clemency petition; Ryan then strongly urged investigators to examine Howard's alleged robbery case, because it appeared to be as tainted as his murder conviction.
These were four of ten death row inmates known as the "Death Row 10," due to widely reported claims that the confessions that they had given in their respective cases had been coerced through torture. Ryan is not the first state governor to have granted blanket commutations to death row inmates during his final days in office. Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller also commuted the sentence of every death row inmate in that state as he left office after losing his 1970 bid for a third two-year term, as did New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya before he left office in 1986 and Ohio Governor Dick Celeste before he left office in 1990.
Ryan won praise from death penalty opponents: as early as 2001, he received the Mario Cuomo Act of Courage Award from Death Penalty Focus, in 2003 the Rose Elizabeth Bird Commitment to Justice Award from the same organization. On the other side of the Atlantic, Robert Badinter, who had successfully introduced the bill abolishing the death penalty in France in 1981 praised Ryan's decision. Many conservatives, though, were opposed to the commutations, some questioning his motives, which came as a federal corruption investigation closed in on the governor and his closest political allies (see below). Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan called Ryan "pathetic", and suggested the governor was attempting to save his public image in hopes of avoiding prison himself. Buchanan noted "Ryan announced his decision to a wildly cheering crowd at the Northwestern University Law School. Families of the victims of the soon-to-be-reprieved killers were not invited."
Scandals, trial, and conviction
Ryan's political career was marred by a scandal called "Operation Safe Road", which involved the illegal sale of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State. In the wake of numerous convictions of his former aides, he chose not to run for reelection in 2002. Seventy-nine former state officials, lobbyists, and others were charged in the investigation, and at least 75 were convicted.
The corruption scandal leading to Ryan's downfall began more than a decade earlier during a federal investigation into a deadly crash in Wisconsin. Six children from the Willis family of Chicago, Illinois, were killed; their parents, Rev. Duane and Janet Willis, were severely burned. The investigation revealed a scheme inside Ryan's Secretary of State's office in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes.
In March 2003, Scott Fawell, Ryan's former chief of staff and campaign manager, was convicted on federal charges of racketeering and fraud. He was sentenced to six years and six months. Former deputy campaign manager Richard Juliano pleaded guilty to related charges and testified against Fawell at trial. Roger Stanley, a former Republican state representative who was hired by Ryan and testified against Fawell, pleaded guilty to wide-ranging corruption, admitting he paid kickbacks to win state contracts and campaign business, secretly mailed out vicious false attacks on political opponents and helped obtain ghost-payrolling jobs.
Indictment
The investigation finally reached the former governor, and in December 2003, Ryan and lobbyist Lawrence Warner were named in a 22-count federal indictment. The charges included racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud. The indictment alleged that Ryan steered several state contracts to Warner and other friends; disbursed campaign funds to relatives and to pay personal expenses; and obstructed justice by attempting to end the state investigation of the license-for-bribes scandal. He was charged with lying to investigators and accepting cash, gifts and loans in return for his official actions as governor. On September 19, 2005, the case went to trial.
Fawell, under pressure from prosecutors, became a key witness against Ryan and Warner. He agreed to a plea deal that cut the prison time for himself and his fiancée, Andrea Coutretsis. Fawell was a controversial witness, not hiding his disdain for prosecutors from the witness stand. According to CBS Chicago political editor Mike Flannery, insiders claimed that Fawell had been "much like a son" to Ryan throughout their careers. At Ryan's trial, Fawell acknowledged that the prosecution had his "head in a vise", and that he found his cooperation with the government against Ryan "the most distasteful thing I've ever done". Nonetheless, he spent several days on the witness stand testifying against Ryan and Warner. Once a tough-talking political strategist, Fawell wept on the witness stand as he acknowledged that his motivation for testifying was to spare Coutretsis a long prison sentence for her role in the conspiracy. The jury was twice sent out of the courtroom so that he could wipe tears from his eyes and regain his composure.
Ryan's daughters and a son-in-law, Michael Fairman, were implicated by testimony during the trial. Stipulations agreed upon by the defense and prosecution and submitted to the court included admissions that all five of Ryan's daughters received illegal payments from the Ryan campaign. In addition to Lynda Fairman, who received funds beyond those her husband Michael testified he had received, the stipulations included admissions from the rest of Ryan's daughters that they did little or no work in return for the payments. In addition, Fawell testified that Ryan's mother's housekeeper was illegally paid from campaign funds, and that Ryan's adopted sister, Nancy Ferguson, received campaign funds without performing campaign work. The prosecution took nearly four months to present their case, as a parade of other witnesses (including Juliano) followed Fawell.
On April 17, 2006, the jury found Ryan and Warner guilty on all counts. However, when ruling on post-trial motions, the judge dismissed two counts against Ryan for lack of proof. Ryan said that he would appeal the verdict, largely due to the issues with the jury.
Patrick Fitzgerald, the federal prosecutor, noted, "Mr. Ryan steered contracts worth millions of dollars to friends and took payments and vacations in return. When he was a sitting governor, he lied to the FBI about this conduct and then he went out and did it again." He charged that one of the most egregious aspects of the corruption was Ryan's action after learning that bribes were being paid for licenses. Instead of ending the practice he tried to end the investigation that had uncovered it, Fitzgerald said, calling the moment "a low-water mark for public service".
On September 6, 2006, Ryan was sentenced to six and a half years in prison. He was ordered to go to prison on January 4, 2007, but the appellate court granted an appeal bond, allowing him to remain free pending the outcome of the appeal. His conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals of the Seventh Circuit on August 21, 2007, and review by the entire Seventh Circuit was denied on October 25, 2007. The Seventh Circuit then rejected Ryan's bid to remain free while he asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case; the opinion called the evidence of Ryan's guilt "overwhelming". The Supreme Court rejected an extension of his bail, and Ryan reported to the Federal Prison Camp in Oxford, Wisconsin, on November 7, 2007. He was transferred on February 29, 2008, to a medium security facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, after Oxford changed its level of medical care and stopped housing inmates over 70 years old. He was listed as Federal Inmate Number 16627-424 and was released on July 3, 2013.
Defense and appeal
Ryan's defense was provided pro bono by Winston & Strawn, a law firm managed by former governor Jim Thompson. The defense cost the firm $10 million through mid-November 2005. Estimates of the cost to the firm as of September 2006 ranged as high as $20 million. Ryan served as Thompson's lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1991. After the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Ryan's appeal, Thompson indicated that he would ask then President George W. Bush to commute Ryan's sentence to time served. United States Senator Dick Durbin wrote a letter to Bush dated December 1, 2008, asking him to commute Ryan's sentence, citing Ryan's age and his wife's frail health, saying, "This action would not pardon him of his crimes or remove the record of his conviction, but it would allow him to return to his wife and family for their remaining years." Bush did not commute Ryan's sentence.
After his conviction Ryan's annual $197,037 state pension was suspended under state law. Ryan's attorneys litigated the pension matter all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court, which ruled on February 19, 2010, that state law "plainly mandates that none of the benefits provided for under the system shall be paid to Ryan". Ryan was paid $635,000 in pension benefits during the three years between his retirement and his political corruption conviction, plus a refund of the $235,500 in personal contributions he made during his 30 years in public office.
Sentencing
In 2010, Ryan requested early release, partly because his wife had terminal cancer and was given only six months to live, and partly on the grounds that some of his convictions should be vacated in light of a Supreme Court ruling that was alleged to have affected their legitimacy. On December 21, 2010, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer denied Ryan's request.
On January 5, 2011, Ryan was taken from his prison cell in Terre Haute, Indiana, to a hospital in Kankakee to visit his dying wife. He was present when she died on June 27, five months after that visit. Ryan entered a Salvation Army halfway house in Chicago on January 30, 2013. Less than three hours later, he was released back to his home in Kankakee where he remained on home confinement until July 3, 2013.
Electoral history
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George Ryan / Corinne Wood | 1,714,094 | 51.03 | |
| Democratic | Glenn Poshard / Mary Lou Kearns | 1,594,191 | 47.46 | |
| Reform | Lawrence Redmond / Phyllis Nirchi | 50,372 | 1.50 | |
| Write-in | Other | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 3,358,705 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George H. Ryan (incumbent) | 1,868,144 | 60.48 | |
| Democratic | Pat Quinn | 1,182,629 | 38.29 | |
| Libertarian | Joseph Schreiner | 38,074 | 1.23 | |
| Total votes | 3,088,847 | 100 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | George H. Ryan | 1,680,531 | 53.41 | |
| Democratic | Jerome Cosentino | 1,465,785 | 46.59 | |
| Total votes | 3,146,316 | 100 | ||
References
- "George Ryan". Biography in Context (fee, Fairfax County Public Library). Detroit, MI: Gale. 1999. Gale Document Number: GALE|K1650000189. Retrieved June 27, 2011. Gale Biography in Context.
- "George Homer Ryan". The Complete Marquis Who's Who (fee, Fairfax County Public Library). Marquis Who's Who. 2010. Gale Document Number: GALE|K2013022832. Retrieved June 27, 2011. Gale Biography in Context
- Roberts, Roxanne; Argetsinger, Amy (June 29, 2011). "The Reliable Source: From the mansion to the Big House". The Washington Post. p. C2. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
Ryan was recently released temporarily to be with his terminally ill wife, who died of lung cancer Monday
- ^ Schlikerman, Becky; Annie Sweeney; Rick Pearson; Ray Long (June 28, 2011). "George Ryan, released from prison, at wife's side when she died". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- "George Ryan Fast Facts". CNN. September 26, 2013.
- Merriner, James L. (September 8, 2008). The Man Who Emptied Death Row: Governor George Ryan and the Politics of Crime. SIU Press. ISBN 9780809328659 – via Google Books.
- ^ Arden, Patrick (January 16, 2003). "The redemption of Gov. Ryan". Salon magazine online. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize For Governor George H. Ryan of Illinois". Stop Capital Punishment Now!. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- Goudie, Chuck (November 12, 2007). "On Veterans Day, George Ryan again is taking orders". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, IL: Paddock Publications, Inc. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- "Lura Lynn Lowe Ryan". legacy.com. June 28, 2011.
- ^ "Fawell: Ryan's family, friends got cash". Chicago Sun-Times. October 7, 2005. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- "Family Members on Payroll". Chicago Tribune. January 19, 2006. Archived from the original on November 15, 2007. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- Warren, Ellen (September 29, 2005). "Cast of characters stars in drama made in Illinois". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- "Ryan Guilty". Chicago Sun-Times. April 17, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- "Michael Sneed's lunch with George Ryan". Chicago Sun-Times. April 18, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- Korecki, Natasha; McKinney, Dave; Janssen, Kim (June 29, 2011). "Lura Lynn dies with husband, ex-Gov. George Ryan, at her side". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
- "Lobbyist's Ex-Girlfriend Tells of Ryan Junkets". Chicago Sun-Times. January 10, 2006. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- Ryan likely House leader. The Pantagraph. January 13, 1981.
- Stevenson says Thompson indecisive, hurting ERA. Southern Illinoisan. April 28, 1982.
- "ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT SETS DATE FOR ARGUMENTS ON GUBERNATORIAL; RECOUNT". The New York Times. December 14, 1982.
- Hawthorne, Michael (December 10, 2008). "Pat Quinn waiting in the wings". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
- "Biographical information on Quinn". WTOP. Associated Press. January 29, 2009. Retrieved January 30, 2009.
- Ryan enters race. The Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. September 2, 1997
- "US governor on Cuba mission". BBC News. October 24, 1999.
- "press-release". www.illinois.gov.
- Johnson, Dirk (May 21, 2000). "No Executions in Illinois Until System Is Repaired". The New York Times. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
- Sobol, Rosemary; Gorner, Jeremy; Heinzmann, David (19 September 2018). "Disgraced ex-Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge, accused of presiding over decades of brutality and torture, has died". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- "A Chilling Look at the Death Penalty". Washington Post. July 26, 2004.
- "Campaign 2000: Insurgents Bradley, McCain Target Independents as N.H. Primary Approaches; Bush Expressing High Hopes; Gore Emphasizing High Road". Inside Politics. CNN. January 31, 2000. Archived from the original on August 22, 2010. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
- "Alstory Simon, freed from prison after wrongful conviction, spends his time in Greater Cleveland working to free others". cleveland.com. April 28, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
- Warden, Rob. "Stanley Howard – The Supreme Court found the evidence "overwhelming", but Governor Ryan found otherwise". Chicago, IL: Northwestern School of Law Bluhm Legal Clinic, Center on Wrongful Convictions. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- "Free Stanley Howard". Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- "Rockefeller and death row". February 27, 2014.
- "La conscience du gouverneur Ryan", Le Nouvel Observateur, January 16, 2003, p. 39.
- Buchanan, Pat (January 25, 2003). "Moral Corruption in Illinois". The American Cause. Archived from the original on November 6, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- https://www.npr.org/2007/11/06/16051850/former-illinois-gov-george-ryan-heading-to-prison
- Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan Heading to Prison NPR, November 6, 2007.
- ^ 'Most distasteful thing I've ever done' nears for Fawell, Chicago Tribune, September 28, 2005.
- http://www.chicagotribune Archived July 19, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, May 9, 2003, Stanley guilty in kickback, payroll scam Former legislator admits mail fraud, money laundering by Matt O'Connor and Ray Gibson,
- Reports, Times Wire (September 19, 2005). "Corruption Trial of Ex-Governor to Begin". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
- ^ Election Funds Went to Relatives Chicago Tribune, October 7, 2005, accessed September 6, 2006.
- Korecki, Natasha (January 19, 2006). "Ryan daughter tells of no-work job". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved September 6, 2006.
- Guilty on all charges. Chicago Sun-Times, April 18, 2006.
- "Ryan judge explains why she dismissed 2 charges". Chicago Tribune. September 8, 2006. Archived from the original on November 15, 2007.
- Ex-Governor of Illinois Is Convicted on All Charges New York Times, April 17, 2006, accessed September 6, 2006.
- Ryan gets 6½ years in prison Chicago Sun-Times, September 6, 2006, accessed same date.
- Federal appeals court says Ryan can stay free on bail Archived November 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Chicago Sun-Times, November 29, 2006, accessed same date.
- "Ex-Gov. Ryan's guilty verdict stands despite jury controversy". Chicago Tribune. August 21, 2007. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
- Higgins, Michael; Coen, Jeff (October 25, 2007). "Ryan loses appeal". Chicago Tribune.
- Higgins, Michael (November 1, 2007). "Ryan down to last appeal". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 12, 2007.
- "U.S. Supreme Court turns down Ryan request to remain free". Chicago Tribune. November 6, 2007.
- Conlon, Michael (November 7, 2007). "Former Illinois Governor Ryan enters prison". Reuters.
- Jason Meisner, Ex-Gov. Ryan switches prisons, Chicago Tribune, February 29, 2008.
- "Inmate locator: George Ryan". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- A Christmas card defense Archived November 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine Chicago Tribune, February 3, 2006, accessed June 24, 2018.
- Ex-Gov. to Bush: Let Ryan go Archived May 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine Chicago Sun-Times, May 28, 2008.
- Durbin, Richard J. (December 1, 2008). "Durbin Releases Letter on Commutation for Governor Ryan". Retrieved December 23, 2008.
- Anonymous. "Ryan-must forfeit State Pension". Rrstar.com. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- "State Supreme Court denies pension for George Ryan – Chicago Breaking News". Archive.chicagobreakingnews.com. February 19, 2010. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- "Illinois Supreme Court Opinion". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- "Judge refuses to release George Ryan". Chicago Tribune. December 21, 2010.
- Schlikerman, Becky; Sweeney, Annie; Pearson, Rick; Long, Ray (June 28, 2011). "George Ryan, released from prison, at wife's side when she died". Chicago Tribune.
- Leventis, Angie; Sweeney, Annie (January 30, 2013). "George Ryan home after spending just hours at halfway house". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
- White, Jesse (ed.). "History and Election Results". Illinois Blue Book 1999-2000. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Secretary of State. pp. 404–405. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- "1994 Secretary of State General Election Results – Illinois". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
- "1990 Secretary of State General Election Results – Illinois". Uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
External links
- CNN.com: "'Blanket commutation' empties Illinois death row", January 11, 2003.
- Biography from site supporting his nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize
- Chicago Sun-Times archive on The George Ryan Trial Archived July 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- Strange Hero: George Ryan and the death penalty
- Appearances on C-SPAN
| Illinois secretaries of state | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
- 1934 births
- American businesspeople in retailing
- 20th-century American pharmacists
- County board members in Illinois
- Criminals from Illinois
- Ferris State University alumni
- Republican Party governors of Illinois
- Illinois politicians convicted of crimes
- Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives
- Lieutenant governors of Illinois
- Living people
- Military personnel from Illinois
- People from Kankakee, Illinois
- People from Maquoketa, Iowa
- Illinois politicians convicted of corruption
- Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud
- Politicians convicted of racketeering
- Secretaries of state of Illinois
- Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives
- United States Army personnel of the Korean War
- United States Army soldiers
- 21st-century American pharmacists
- Pharmacists from Illinois
- 20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly