Free Republic

CHICAGO | The Illinois Supreme Court says former Gov. George Ryan must forfeit all of his state pension for crimes he committed as secretary of state and governor. Ryan is currently serving a 6 1/2-year racketeering and fraud sentence. He had been hoping to salvage a $60,000-a-year pension, based on his years as a state lawmaker and lieutenant governor. Ryan wasn't convicted of committing any crimes when he held those offices. But the high court ruled 6-1 on Friday that he's ineligible for any state pension. Before his conviction, Ryan had been due to draw a pension of more than...

CHICAGO - Former Gov. George Ryan, who drew international praise when he commuted the sentences of everyone on Illinois' death row, was convicted of racketeering and fraud Monday in a corruption scandal that ended his political career in 2003. Ryan, 72, sat stone-faced as the verdict was read and afterward vowed to appeal. "I believe this decision today is not in accordance with the kind of public service that I provided to the people of Illinois over 40 years, and needless to say I am disappointed in the outcome," the former governor said. Ryan faces up to 20 years in...

Gov. George Ryan knew that documents from his campaign were destroyed by his aides in 1998 out of fear that investigators would raid his offices, federal prosecutors alleged Wednesday. Ryan, who was then secretary of state, was present when top aide Scott Fawell gave orders to remove all campaign documents from the secretary of state's office and destroy them, according to a 76-page court filing by federal prosecutors. The filing alleges that Fawell, after giving instructions to destroy the documents, turned to Ryan and told him what he had done. Ryan then left the offices, prosecutors said. Later that night,...

<p>Gov. George Ryan says he will not resign because of federal charges against his campaign fund and two former top aides.</p> <p>But he had little else to say Wednesday about the indictments handed down a day earlier, promising only that he would have a statement ``when this whole thing is over.''</p>