Free Republic

By The Leader-Chicago Bureau (admin@illinoisleader.com) CHICAGO -- In the aftermath of a tumultuous political season, Illinois Republicans have begun searching for ways to reconstruct their party. They compare their plight to the Democrats at the national level.As the party rank-and-file meet in various venues throughout the state, one theme comes through loud and clear: there is an urgent need for Republican party reform in Illinois.Party reform has different meanings, however. For some it means finding a new party chairman to lead the party out of its mire. For others there is a growing consensus that the part of the...

CHICAGO (CBS 2) A deadly pile up in Texas that killed 10 people has a former Chicago area truck driver facing multiple homicide charges, and the accident may have connections to an infamous Illinois driver's license scandal. Ten people were killed on Monday when a semi driver lost control of his rig, and created a pile-up on Interstate 75, north of Dallas. The head-on collision ignited fires intense enough to melt metal, hinting at the horrible fate of the humans trapped inside. Ten members of two different families were killed. But the driver of the truck who crossed out of...

He's looking more rested. He's focused. He's still gruff and prickly. He's still consumed with murder ... with the names, dates, images, emotions and grisly details of the deaths of hundreds of children and adults. That's the life sentence for former Gov. George Ryan. No clemency. No commutation. No parole. For him, it's self-imposed. At 70, Ryan devotes nearly all his time to advocacy for abolition of the death penalty. A lifelong Republican, Ryan knows full well how unpopular his position is. Despite that, he expects to spend the rest of his life pushing for reform. His metamorphosis from law-and-order...

<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Ten thousand copies of an Illinois history that depicts indicted former Gov. George Ryan as a "courageous" public servant who "always placed the well-being of others first" have been sitting in a warehouse for more than a year as its promoters debate how to market them.</p>

GRyan re-nominated for Nobel Peace Prize Thursday, January 29, 2004 By The Leader-Champaign/Urbana Bureau CHAMPAIGN -- Last week, former Governor George Ryan was re-nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Francis Boyle, Professor of International Law and Human Rights at the University of Illinois. "During the past year George Ryan has attempted to generate a wave of opposition to the death penalty all over the world. George Ryan has done more effective work against the death penalty than all of us American Abolitionists put together," Boyle said this week. "For these reasons I believe that George Ryan has, in the words...

Ex-Gov. Ryan indicted Former Gov. George Ryan was charged in a federal racketeering indictment Wednesday with taking payoffs, gifts and vacations in return for government contracts and leases while he was secretary of state. The indictment alleges Ryan received illegal cash payments and gifts, vacations and personal services. It says members of his family got cash loans and gifts totaling $167,000. The 22-count indictment charges that Ryan himself directed payments totaling more than $300,000 to prominent lobbyist Donald Udstuen. It says Ryan and his associates engaged in a pattern of corruption that included performing official acts, awarding lucrative government contracts...

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan has been indicted on federal corruption charges, with details to be disclosed later today, legal sources confirmed midday Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald scheduled a press conference for 2:30 p.m. to review the details of a 22-count indictment involving Mr. Ryan and at least one other former official, a spokesman said. Timothy Rooney, one of Mr. Ryan’s attorneys, said he was notified by Mr. Fitzgerald around noon that Mr. Ryan has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Until now, Mr. Ryan had not been accused of criminal wrongdoing in the federal government’s nearly six-year...

CHICAGO (AP) Federal grand jury indicts former Illinois Gov. George Ryan on corruption charges.

CHICAGO -- Former Governor George Ryan may face charges of extortion, racketeering, and obstruction of justice as soon as Wednesday.

Fielding wrong number calls on your cell phone can be a severe annoyance ... usually.But when the errant calls are for Illinois' embattled former governor, it can be a hoot, says a Chicago lawyer with a very unusual cell phone taleGil Ross, a partner in a downtown firm, activated his new black Nokia 7160 phone in late June. Ever since, the calls for former Gov. George Ryan have kept the phone ringing.Politicians from all over the state, with their names popping up on caller ID, have checked in asking for "Gov. Ryan," "the governor" or just "George."It didn't take long...

Illinois Democrats looking to recapture retiring Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald's seat have been mobilizing for months -- raising moneiy, rounding up endorsements, recruiting volunteers. Republicans, meanwhile, have had trouble even finding candidates. First Fitzgerald said he wouldn't seek a second term. Then political veterans Jim Edgar, Judy Baar Topinka and Jim Ryan bowed out. In the past month, a handful of newcomers have stepped in. With 17 months to go before Election Day, Republicans, already tainted by former GOP Gov. George Ryan's scandals, must now fight a costly, uphill battle to hold the seat. "They kind of had that head...

He's the most happy fella. Jack Ryan, 43, the North Shore investment banker, is running for the U.S. Senate on a platform of happiness and light. ''I just feel so much love in this room right now,'' Happy Jack declared at his campaign kickoff the other day at Hales Franciscan High School, where he gave up an investment banking career to teach a few courses. ''Every major religion says that happiness comes not from seeking our own fulfillment but from seeking the fulfillment of others,'' he said. ''We've got to start looking out for one another's happiness." Ryan, who has...

For once, Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.) and the Illinois GOP delegation are in agreement: Both are relieved that he's decided to leave the Senate. "A great burden has been lifted off my shoulder," Fitzgerald said in a brief interview: "I've made my son's first and second Little League game in a row." Other congressional Republicans who clashed repeatedly with Fitzgerald during his single Senate term sounded even more sanguine about his departure. "Peter was his own worst enemy," said Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.). "Peter has no friends in our delegation. He never reached out to the delegation." Fitzgerald announced over...

WASHINGTON--A spokesman for the U.S. Senate Democrats' political organization said Tuesday that if former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar runs for the Senate, Democrats will hit him on ethics issues. The move appears to be designed to discourage the state GOP's most formidable candidate from getting into the race. "We will use Edgar to put the final nail in the coffin of the Republican Party of Illinois,'' said Brad Woodhouse, the spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. The strategy will be to link Edgar to the scandals of former Gov. George Ryan, which contributed to a near-sweep for Democrats in...

Defense lawyers are expected to continue presenting evidence Monday in the corruption trial of former Gov. George Ryan's campaign committee and top aide Scott Fawell. After nearly six weeks of testimony, prosecutors rested their case last week. WBBM's Steve Grzanich at federal court has some of the highlights of the prosecution’s case Listen to Steve's report. Two key witnesses for the government are Richard Juliano, a former underling of defendant Mr. Fawell, and his friend and ex-Secretary of State employee — turned-government mole — Larry Hall. Mr. Fawell is the governor's former chief of staff and campaign manager. He is...

<p>OSLO, Norway (AP) — The Nobel Peace Prize Committee has received 150 nominations for the 2003 award, with a majority of nominations coming from North America, committee secretary Geir Lundestad said Tuesday.</p> <p>Nominations, which had to be postmarked by Feb. 1, are made by past laureates, committee members, university professors and select organizations. They're kept secret for 50 years, although those making them often announce their choice.</p>

OSLO, Norway – Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who emptied the state's death row because he found the imposition of capital punishment unfair, is among those nominated for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. The nominating deadline – entries had to be postmarked Friday – brought a flood of last-minute names to the committee charged with selecting the winner of the prestigious award. It is presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Swedish creator Alfred Nobel's death in 1896. The winner, announced in mid-October, takes home approximately $1 million. "There is a lot of mail and many new proposals, but beyond...

OSLO, Norway – Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who emptied the state's death row because he found the imposition of capital punishment unfair, is among those nominated for the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize. The nominating deadline – entries had to be postmarked Friday – brought a flood of last-minute names to the committee charged with selecting the winner of the prestigious award. It is presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Swedish creator Alfred Nobel's death in 1896. The winner, announced in mid-October, takes home approximately $1 million. "There is a lot of mail and many new proposals, but beyond...

When Illinois Governor George Ryan reached the line "I will no longer tinker with the machinery of death" at Northwestern University last Saturday, announcing his decision to commute the death sentences of 167 inmates of Illinois's Death Row, his audience leapt to their feet and applauded. Now, think about that. Why would people cheer the news that 167 convicted murderers would no longer be at risk of execution? If those present were convinced that innocent men were on Death Row, they might reasonably be relieved that a grave miscarriage of justice had been averted. But they would also know that...

<p>Less than perfect: In a one-on-one interview with RedEye, former Death Row inmate Rolando Cruz comes out on the death penalty, the system that administers it and the society in which it exists.</p> <p>Former Death Row inmate Rolando Cruz spoke out Tuesday for the first time since former Gov. George Ryan commuted 164 death sentences, praising Ryan for doing the right thing but declaring he is in favor of the death penalty if it can be administered fairly.</p> <p>And the system now, he added, is not fair.</p>