Posted on 09/06/2006 1:59:53 PM PDT by RWR8189
Former Gov. George Ryan was sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison today following his historic conviction for steering lucrative state business to cronies in return for vacations, gifts and other benefits for himself and his family.
"People of this state expected better, and I let them down," Ryan said in a statement delivered to the courtroom before the sentencing.
Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 8 to 10 years.
But defense attorneys argued before U.S. District Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer that even a sentence of up to 30 months could deprive Ryan, 72, of the last healthy years of his life. Ryan is said to be suffering from Crohn's disease and diabetes.
Ryan was ordered to surrender to begin serving his sentence Jan. 4.
Pallmeyer postponed ruling on a defense request for Ryan to remain free on bond while he appeals his conviction, a process that could take months. Prosecutors asked for additional time to respond in writing.
Ryan's sentence represented the stiffest doled out in Operation Safe Road, the eight-year federal probe that exposed rampant bribery in state driver's license facilities and then brought down Ryan's inner circle and finally Ryan.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
"raised the national debate on capital punishment by issuing a moratorium on executions in 2000"
That's about the only GOOD thing he did. With the number that they found on death row that were innocent, and the fact that Illinois had been in the same league as Mississippi when it comes to low funding for defense teams (until recently MS only paid defense lawyers $1000 for capital cases) it only made sense to stop executions temporarily at the least.
I'd rather pay for 156 scumbags to sit in prison for life than to execute 17 innocent people.
No, what it means is Illinois is beyond repair. Witness the Illini caller to Rush who nearly had an on-air breakdown Tuesday afternoon, gibbering about Obama & Turbin. Rush verbally pimpslapped him and sent him on his way...
Did he commute their sentences as well? I thought their death sentences weren't just put on hold.
Too bad. He should have thought of that when he was abusing his power. IMO, since he let everyone off death row, he should be forced to face the families of the murder victims every day. That piece of crap rag we have up here the Oregonian used Ryan's emptying death row as the basis for an editorial against executions.
You think they sit in prison? Wrong. These clowns get to go to breakfast, then the exercise yard, hang out in their gangs, be someone, then do it all over again the next day.
It might not be a great life by American standards, but it sure aint sitting in a cell staring at a stone wall 23 hours a day.
As for innocent people getting executed, bs. The perps were their and participated in the crimes. The cops don't scoop up boy scouts and charge them with capital murder.
Judy barr topinko is gonna have to do it herself.
Any Illinois conservative to pulls the lever for this backstabbing ......oh jeez dont get me started...must control fingers from typing bad words.......
Choose between Blago or Topinko? Good greif. If Topinko wins she will be as bad if not worse than Ryan. If Blago wins odds are he is heading for the greybar hotel since Daley, and both Madigans will throw him under the bus to save their butts. Funny thing is gun grabbin Blago is too arrogant to see this.
i was an ins agent stationed in illinois in the mid seventies and early eighties-i got know addison and its police dept pretty well-one of my friends was assigned to this case and it left some impression on him and other officers-ryan is a bag of dirt i hope he spends some time with the people he commuted but he probably won't
They should have named the POWERPOINT program after you because you make your points so profoundly. The fact that people here on FR cannot seem to make the connection between the crooked Governor by whim of Illinois (my native state) and the creepy Governor by whim of California (my adopted state) is just astounding!!!
Yes... "Vote for RINOs -- they can WIN!!!!!" is most certainly the folly of foolish people made worse by their self-righteous certitude about it!!! It's just ludicrous, BillyBoy... ludicrous!!!
The last time I voted for a Democrat was when I lived in Illinois and voted for his pro-life, pro-NRA opponent, Glen Poshard.
The first thing he did after being elected governor was to break his promise not to raise taxes. He also promoted pro gay and anti death penalty agendas.
You know, it actually makes sense. Those who stand for nothing, or have no strong principles as to how government should play in our lives, must be running for office for an alternative purpose. Is it any coincidence that many of the RINOs are resigning in shame or under investigation?
I have no idea why you pinged me to your rant.
There are good conservatives running for other races. I say support them with extra effort and let the RINOS fall on their asses.
Supporting RINOS does two things that are bad for the Republican party.
1) It tells Republicans that their values are unworthy
2) It enables liberal Republicans to install liberals into higher places in the party and thereby makes the party less committed to those values.
The money in Paul Powell's shoeboxes turned out to be clean.
Charlie Carpentier (R), Jerry Cosentino (D) and Alan (the pal) Dixon (D) were all dirtier as Secretary of State than Powell or Ryan. Jim Edgar was probably the cleanest of the trash that have been SOS since I came to Illinois in '61. But that's like saying Richard Speck isn't as bad as John Wayne Gacy.
In Illinois, SOS has often been the spot a party has awarded to "up and coming" politician so that the climber can acquire funding for his future big race for Governor, Senator, etc. Dixon, Edgar and Ryan all consciously used it for that purpose.
When Big Jim Thompson (recently famous for coverups on the 911 commission and Sun-Times newspaper) was governor and selecting his successor, George Ryan was Speaker of the Illinois House and next in line. But Big Jim knew that George had often done illegal extortion as Speaker. Big Jim told insiders (my friends) that he thought the MSM would not give George the same pass that the MSM had given himself. Thus Big Jim tapped Little Jim Edgar to be SOS first so Little Jim could acquire the funding to follow Big Jim as Governor, which is precisely what happened.
George Ryan had to then wait in line behind Little Jim. That annoyed not only George Ryan but others in the combine who knew that both Little Jim and George Ryan would deliver pinstripe patronage contracts ... but that George would deliver much bigger ones than Little Jim. Which turned out to be true.
In effect he got One Year for each of the Willis Children he KILLED and 6 months for being a corrupt maggot.
Thanks for the response. Some stuff I didn't know, and some stuff I forgot about. We sure have had a rogue's gallery in Springfield.
I heard them talking on WLS this morning about Jim Thompson riding in with Ryan for the sentencing and, even though Thompson was there as a private citizen and an attorney, it just struck me that there was just something not right in him, as a former governer, giving aid and support to a convicted felon. Of course, the way things are run here, there's really no incongruity in that.
Me too.
Ryan got off too easy.
L
Actually, the clubs in question were clubs where couples went to perform sexual acts upon one another in front of crowds.
The DNA basis for vacating convictions will abate as time goes by since DNA will be heavily used in capital cases from now on.
As to Lyin' Ryan, I would gladly throw the switch if he could be executed by electrocution on general principles. Of course, I would prefer burning the SOB at the stake after a week or two of vigorous, ummmm, interrogation!
Clearly Ryan sold his soul to the devil. If there is any justice he would get Fedell as a cellmate.
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