Sen. Durbin asks Bush to commute sentence of ex-Ill. governor

[JudyInTheHeartland]

Source: AP

CHICAGO (AP) -- Sen. Dick Durbin has asked the president to commute the corruption sentence of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan. The Democratic senator released a letter Monday in which he asked President George W. Bush to "consider commuting the sentence of George Ryan to time served."

The 74-year-old Republican former governor has served one year of a 6 1/2-year sentence for racketeering, fraud and other offenses.

He was convicted of steering contracts, using state resources to run campaigns and killing an investigation of bribes paid in exchange for truck driver licenses.

Durbin has said the former governor paid a price by losing his government pension, having his family name ruined and being separated from his frail wife.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LICENSES_FOR_SALE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[LisaM]

1. This is the Illinois governor who commuted the death penalty sentences?

I say, go for it.

[Benhurst]

4. Yes.

And I agree.

[Robbien]

6. Nine people died because of Ryan's corruption

Six of them children.

And he is not sorry, not one bit. Ryan's wife said "His conscience is as clear as his mind. If he had it to do over--and I've heard him say this--he would govern the same way as he did before."

75 other people in Ryan's den of thieves received federal felony convictions.

Ryan is exactly where he should be.

[mopinko]

18. he had blood on his own hands. he was practically commuting his own

sentence. of course, he had no real reason to think that he would ever be held responsible for the 6 children who were fried in front of their parents. but there are plenty of people in prison for crimes which they had a more tenuous connection.
and the man had quite a knack for such grandstanding. i remember the day fawell was indicted. he announced that he was going to make the tollways free. that got the headline, and the indictment was below the fold.
unfortunately, i am sure george will let his illinois campaign chair out.

but i say, let the son of a bitch rot. write to durbin. i emailed him the other day.
rot in prison now, george, and rot in hell later.

[Kolesar]

19. Six children...what ? ... eom

[mopinko]

20. .

Lingering questions and accusations about the relationship between corruption charges against former Gov. George Ryan and the Willis family tragedy inspires me to reprint this January 8, 2004 column:

Ricardo Guzman was a bad driver with a bad license who was driving a bad truck north on Interstate Highway 94 near Milwaukee on Nov. 8, 1994.

What happened was horrific: A mudflap-taillight assembly fell off, punctured the gas tank of a trailing mini-van and the resulting inferno killed six children of Scott and Janet Willis of Chicago.

Federal investigators allege Guzman had paid a bribe to obtain his commercial driver's license in 1992 instead of taking the required tests.

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2005/10/column_ryan_jus.html

[Kolesar]

28. I don't know if Ryan took a bribe in that story

It reads like a "loose" correlation. thanks anyway

[mopinko]

29. eric zorn is a cautious man.

ryan was at the head of a huge criminal enterprise in which he sold his office, an office of public safety, to enrich himself and others. and it is my clear recollection that the driver involved did pay a bribe for his license.
i agree that he was unlikely to be held criminally liable, but only because he was a rich, powerful white guy.

[Kolesar]

30. thanks...eom

[amdezurik]

2. hope not Dick

I have a friend who "paid a price" for supplying his "frail wife" (dying as well) with pot to help her live the remainder of her life in a little less pain and with some kind of appitite. he also lost his job and is serving a 15 year sentence for it. And we are supposed to give a rats ass for a real criminal who took advantage of the trust placed in him by an entire state?


dream on Dick.

[hlthe2b]

5. Your story is tragic... I wish I'd been on his jury... I'm sorry...

But, I'd vote to pardon this governor because of his rational (and brave) stance on banning capitol punishment after it was shown how often these trials were bungled and the convicted, innocent.

[tritsofme]

15. You give the good convicted felon far too much credit.

His commutation of the death sentences in Illinois was a cynical attempt to renew his name, as he was facing imminent federal indictments at the time.

He was only trying to cover his own ass.

6.5 years isn't long enough for this scoundrel. I just hope he lives long enough to see his successor join him in prison.

[KT2000]

3. Definitely agree!!

He made the most eloquent speech in stopping the death penalty in his state.
A brave move I wish had spread beyond the borders of Illinois.

[Robbien]

9. The death penalty stoppage was only a political ploy to get the public on his side

so that the courts would not pursue his widespread corruption ring.

He and 75 of his closest cronies are sitting exactly where they should be sitting.

[Oceansaway]

11. i agree...n/t

[tritsofme]

16. I don't think people outside of Illinois realize how big of a crook this man is.

You hit the nail on the head.

Let him rot, and let Blago be his cell mate.

[Oceansaway]

7. screw Durbin....first Lieberman and

now a true blue repuke....my only regret is that

i voted for this asshole....jmo...

[hlthe2b]

8. You may not care...

But, I'd vote to pardon this governor because of his rational (and brave) stance on banning capitol punishment after it was shown how often these trials were bungled and the convicted, innocent. Repuke or no...

[Stuart G]

10. He is still a crook whose corruption resulted in the death of innocents...screw em

[atreides1]

22. One Issue Person

Is that it for you, just because of his stance banning capitol punishment, which for the most part was nothing more then a political show?

6 children are dead because of his corruption, and that means nothing?

So, if Duke Cunningham comes out against the death penalty, should he be freed also, what about Charles Manson?

Just because he did something to save his own ass doesn't mean he shouldn't pay for the crimes that he committed!

[Uben]

12. Do the crime, do the time

How can you give one man leniency and not every man who has committed a similar crime? Is one man's life more important than another's? No. When you screw up there are consequences. I'm waiting for Bush and Cheney to suffer theirs.

[Saturday]

13. The Chicago Tribune had a poll today....

of the 1450 respondents....80% were against Ryan's release. This is one of the few times I disagree with Durbin.

[rebel with a cause]

14. I'm right there with you.

I can understand Durbin having pity on Ryan due to his age and his family's situation, but then there is the fact that we should hold those in our government as responsible for their illegal actions as regular citizens are held.

[davsand]

17. Ryan's history of corruption was well documented. There is ZERO love for him in Illinois.

I think there is a very real disconnect for a lot of folks that are not from Illinois about George Ryan and exactly who or what he is. His history of corruption while in office extends for decades rather than just his time in the Governor's mansion. There is a lot of residual anger here for him, still, and I honestly think that there are a lot of people on here that see only his one moral act (the moratorium on the Death Penalty) and they think he's probably just a guy that made a couple of mistakes.

That is most certainly not the case. here in Illinois we have a LONG history of corruption and graft that is some pretty ugly stuff. IF you think about Chicago and the Daley family (Richard and Little Dick, especially) and then take that over a period of a few decades you will start to understand. We had one guy die in office and they found a bunch of shoe boxes in his closet stuffed full of cash. (Bonus points to the first person to name that particular politician.)

We've had an indicted Governor about every ten years, and it is looking a lot like our current Dem Governor might be headed that direction as well. In Illinois we KNOW corruption with an intimacy that most other states can never match.

Ryan had a long and sordid history of being a corrupt pol, and it took Fitz a long time to get enough to put him away. I remember hearing very early on about his (Ryan's) time as Sec of State and that office selling Semi Truck Driver's Licenses to drivers that were unable to pass the test. It was actually a bit later that they were able to trace that one corrupt policy back to an accident that killed an entire family.

At the same time that stuff was all happening there were other things going down in his administration like using his employees for political activities, bribes for favors and (an old and time honored Illinois favorite) nepotism of the rankest order. Literally, when Ryan put that moratorium in place there was a lot of speculation among both the IL Republicans as well as the IL Dem Party that maybe Ryan was worried about saving his own ass when he stopped the death penalty. There was THAT much distrust of Ryan by that point in time.

I know many Republicans that blame Ryan for the chaos that the IL GOP fell into, and I will tell you that he is as disliked in those quarters as he is in the IL Dem party. I had one of them tell me just this morning that had Durbin been out front on this amnesty thing prior to the election, it is the private opinion that Durbin might have not fared as well in this last election. (I think that is extreme, but I am a huge Durbin fan.)

Anyhow, for all of you from outside Illinois, this thing with Ryan is WAY deeper than a guy who made a couple of minor ethical blunders. We have zero sympathy for him.



Laura

[Stuart G]

21. Please read above post...

I agree completely with Laura.........

..I too have studied Illinois politics for a very long time..Ryan was a crook of the highest order...What bothers me, is why Durbin is doing this..?

Ryan's crooked system resulted in accidents all over the country cause truck drivers paid bribes in the Sec States office that he lead...The crook never admitted to anything...never had remorse or sorrow...let him rot in hell...... In some ways, he is just as bad as Bush..

[AngryAmish]

25. Shoeboxes - IL Sec of State Paul Powell

[davsand]

33. We have a winner!!!. Next question: What was Rosty busted for?

Yet another fine example of Illinois politicians, what was Rosty busted for and who convinced him to plead? (has current events tie in.)



Laura

[AngryAmish]

34. Was it the House post office? Or was it taking a chair?

It was penny ante stuff but he did do it.

[robcon]

23. What does Durbin owe Ryan???

Let Ryan rot. The bigger question is why is Durbin carrying Ryan's water.

[Robbien]

27. Durbin is trying to get a problem out of the way so its is not around

next year for Obama.

Have Bush pardon Ryan so Obama doesn't have to.

Plus, Chicago politics.

[snooper2]

24. Fuck Him...

Let the bastard rot in jail....


repuke or dem...do the crime- do the time

[AngryAmish]

26. People outside of Illinois have no idea how corrupt it is here

There is not a competition between Democrats and Republicans - there is a long running comprimise on divvying up the graft. Democrats get everything within the borders with the jewel being O'Hare. Republicans get the Tollways.

Contracts are sold to the highest bidder in kickbacks. Much of it is done legally, but it is still crooked.

The McPier Organization is run by both Ds and Rs with most of the lbor supplied by the Ds.

Why is Durbin doing this? He just got re-elected so people will forget about this in 6 years. He is friends with Ryan.

Many times people say there is no difference between Rs and Ds. In Illinois not only is there no difference, they are on the same team.

Dick Durban -- you are a crook.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

31. So if I commit a crime get convicted but get sick after serving a year, I can go home too?

I didn't think so. Fuck that. Are these people any more special than the rest of us?

[FriendlyReminder]

32. Make the slimeball PAY like everyone else.

Dang, why in the world would anyone let this guy off. Let him rot in jail as far as I'm concerned.