George Ryan to apologize to the people of Illinois

One of the recent lowlights for the Illinois Republican Party took place a year ago when Jim Thompson, a former Republican Illinois governor, escorted another former Illinois GOP governor, George Ryan, to prison.

What a sad scene

Ryan, from Kankakee, is serving a seven year prison sentence for fraud and extortion.

Before the Rod Blagojevich scandal blew up this week, the possible commutation of Ryan's sentence was being touted by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and by the way, isn't this ironic, Blagojevich.

Support for this idea is at best mild among Illinoisans, partly because Ryan has never apologized for his crime, which include running a crooked Secretary of State's office where bribes were paid that allowed unqualified drivers to earn licenses. Nine people died from accidents caused by those drivers.

AP has the latest:

Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson says he's going to read a public apology from his client, imprisoned former Illinois Gov. George Ryan.

In a Friday news release, Thompson said he would read the public apology at his downtown Chicago law office at 5 p.m. The 74-year-old Ryan was convicted in 2006 of racketeering, fraud and other offenses. He has served one year of his 6 1/2-year federal prison sentence.

Thompson has asked President Bush to consider commuting Ryan's sentence to time served. In a letter to Bush, Ryan said he accepts the verdict against him and apologizes to the people to Illinois.

However, it's after 6:00pm in Illinois, and Thompson still hasn't read the statement. I'm sure it's coming.

Hat tip to ThirdWaveDave for the Kankakee picture.

UPDATE 6:20pm: I'm watching CBS 2 Chicago and I haven't seen any coverage of the Thompson press conference. Well, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, it has come and gone.

Ryan, 74, is seeking an early release from prison from outgoing Pres. Bush for his involvement in a racketeering fraud scheme that included efforts as Illinois Secretary of State to quash a probe into a crash that killed six children of the Willis family in 1994.

"My heart has and always will go out to the Willis family,'' Ryan said, according to a statement read by his attorney, Jim Thompson, at a media conference today. "They, like all of the people of Illinois, deserved far better than I gave them."

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