Durbin today took the next step--he asked Bush for a commutation.
I oppose an early release for Ryan, and will explain why tomorrow.
Morton Grove businessman Andy McKenna, who is chairman of the Illinois Republican Park, is against a Ryan commutation.
From an Illinois GOP press release:
This issue is not one of party, but of bringing real change (emphasis mine) to Illinois by the way we conduct business.
"My heart goes out to Mrs. Ryan and her family during this difficult time, however, Governor Ryan was convicted in federal court by a jury of his peers and all of his appeals, including one to the U.S. Supreme Court, were denied.
"A commutation of Governor Ryan's sentence sends the wrong message to not only those who betray the public trust but also to the honest, hardworking men and women of Illinois who expect public corruption will be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
"Senator Durbin and Governor Blagojevich's line of thinking only contributes to the difficult task of bringing change to Illinois."
Blagojevich, a Chicago Democrat, also favors an early release for his predecessor. The irony here is that "Blago" is under investigation by the same federal office that prosecuted Ryan.
Ryan's wife, Lura Lynn, didn't help her cause, as Rich Miller pointed out in The Capitol Fax:
When asked if there were anything George Ryan would change, Lura Lynn Ryan said neither she nor her husband has any regrets.
"His conscience is as clear as his mind," she said. "If he had it to do over — and I've heard him say this — he would govern the same way as he did before. All he wanted to do was help people and I think he's done that."
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Illinois Politics 
Durbin 
George Ryan 
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2 comments:
Ryan helped people alright .. helped them put their kids into an early grave.
Well played by Durbin in not breathing a word of this before the last election.
He's hoping (and judging by the way folks in the state keep electing these a**holes, he's probably right) that people will forget all about this 6 years from now.
The IL GOP needs to make serious hay out of this now, and all the way until 2014.
Durbin's handed them a gift. I wonder if they've got the wherewithall to actually realize that (and judging by their representation in IL politics, I have my reservations).
George Ryan is a heartless old
man!
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