George Ryan#Capital punishment

George Homer Ryan was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, to Jeannette (née Bowman) and Thomas Ryan, a pharmacist.{{cite web |url= https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/26/us/george-ryan-fast-facts/index.html |title=George Ryan Fast Facts |website=CNN.com |date=September 26, 2013| access-date= }}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiV6CgAAQBAJ&q=Jeannette+Bowman+Thomas+Ryan&pg=PT223 |title=The Man Who Emptied Death Row: Governor George Ryan and the Politics of Crime |first=James L. |last=Merriner |date=September 8, 2008 |publisher=SIU Press |isbn=9780809328659 |via=Google Books}} Ryan was raised in Kankakee County, Illinois. His brother Tom became a prominent political figure in Kankakee County. Their sister Kathleen Dean's former son-in-law, Bruce Clark, would become the country clerk in Kankakee County, Illinois.{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/ryan/ryan/0.html |title=Lobbyist's Ex-Girlfriend Tells of Ryan Junkets |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date= January 10, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2006}}

George was drafted into the US Army in 1954, serving a 13-month tour in Korea, where he worked at a base pharmacy.{{cite news |title=On Veterans Day, George Ryan again is taking orders |author-link=Chuck Goudie |first=Chuck |last=Goudie |work=Daily Herald |date=November 12, 2007 |publisher=Paddock Publications |location=Arlington Heights, Illinois |url= https://prev.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=75591 |access-date=June 29, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120325113619/https://prev.dailyherald.com/story/print/?id=75591 |archive-date=March 25, 2012}}

He attended Ferris State College of Pharmacy (now Ferris State University) in Big Rapids, Michigan.

After Korea, George Ryan worked for his father's two drugstores.{{cite web |url= http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/01/16/ryan/index.html?pn=1 |title=The redemption of Gov. Ryan |work=Salon magazine |date=January 16, 2003 |first=Patrick |last=Arden |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110606164136/http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2003/01/16/ryan/index.html?pn=1 |archive-date=June 6, 2011| access-date= June 27, 2011}} Eventually, he built his father's pair of pharmacies into a successful family-run chain (profiting from lucrative government-contract business selling prescription drugs to nursing homes) which he sold in 1990.{{cite web |url= http://www.stopcapitalpunishment.org/bio.html |title=The Nobel Peace Prize For Governor George H. Ryan of Illinois |publisher=Stop Capital Punishment Now! |access-date=June 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728063833/http://www.stopcapitalpunishment.org/bio.html |archive-date=July 28, 2011}}

Ryan began his political career by serving on the Kankakee County Board from 1968 to 1973 (his brother Tom J. Ryan was Mayor of Kankakee for 20 years from 1965 to 1985). He was then elected to the Illinois House of Representatives in 1972, where he served five terms. In 1976, he was elected House Minority Leader. As Minority Leader, Ryan led Republicans to win a 91-86 majority in the House in 1980; he was subsequently elected Speaker in January 1981.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-pantagraph-ryan-likely-house-leader/136219830/ Ryan likely House leader]. The Pantagraph. January 13, 1981.

File:George Ryan circa 1987 bb 39874 full (3x4).jpg

In July 1981, Dave O'Neal, the lieutenant governor under Republican Governor James R. Thompson, resigned unexpectedly. To fill in the vacancy left by O'Neal's resignation, Thompson selected Ryan to be his running mate in the 1982 election.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/southern-illinoisan-stevenson-says-thomp/136220669/ Stevenson says Thompson indecisive, hurting ERA]. Southern Illinoisan. April 28, 1982. The Thompson/Ryan ticket narrowly defeated the Democratic ticket of Adlai Stevenson III and Grace Stern.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/14/us/illinois-supreme-court-sets-date-for-arguments-on-gubernatorial-recount.html |title=ILLINOIS SUPREME COURT SETS DATE FOR ARGUMENTS ON GUBERNATORIAL; RECOUNT |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 14, 1982}} Thompson and Ryan were both reelected to their positions in 1986. In 1990, Ryan was elected Secretary of State of Illinois. During his first term as Secretary of State, then–State Treasurer Pat Quinn was publicly critical of Ryan, specifically drawing attention to special vanity license plates that Ryan's office provided for clout-hungry motorists. This rivalry led Quinn in a failed bid to challenge Ryan in the 1994 general election for Secretary of State.{{cite news |last=Hawthorne |first=Michael |title=Pat Quinn waiting in the wings |work=Chicago Tribune |date=December 10, 2008 |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/dec/10/local/chi-quinn-profiledec10 |access-date=January 30, 2009}}{{cite news |date=January 29, 2009 |title=Biographical information on Quinn |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0FF91654239084E0&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F12655E77A4CA3E50 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250315051719/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/12655E77A4CA3E50&f=basic |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |agency=Associated Press |via=NewsBank}}

File:Congressman Phil Crane with Illinois Governor George Ryan and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley.gif and Richard M. Daley]]

{{Sources |section|date=May 2025}}

On August 30, 1997, incumbent governor Jim Edgar announced he would retire after his second term; three days later, Ryan announced his candidacy for governor.[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-chronicle-ryan-enters-race/136221232/ Ryan enters race]. The Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. September 2, 1997 He won the Republican nomination with minimal opposition and defeated his opponent, Glenn Poshard, in the general election by a 51–47 percent margin. Ryan's running mate was first-term state representative Corinne Wood. Ryan outspent Poshard by a 4-to-1 margin. Poshard, a firm believer in campaign finance reform, placed limits on individual donations and refused to accept donations from corporate or special interests.

One of Ryan's pet projects as governor was an extensive repair of the Illinois Highway System called "Illinois FIRST". FIRST was an acronym for "Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools, and Transit". Signed into law in May 1999, the law created a $6.3 billion package for use in school and transportation projects. With various matching funds programs, Illinois FIRST provided $2.2 billion for schools, $4.1 billion for public transportation, another $4.1 billion for roads, and $1.6 billion for other projects. He also improved Illinois's technology infrastructure, creating one of the first cabinet-level Offices of Technology in the country and bringing up Illinois's technology ranking in a national magazine from 48th out of the 50 states when he took office to 1st just two years later. Ryan committed record funding to education, including 51% of all new state revenues during his time in office, in addition to the billions spent through Illinois FIRST that built and improved schools and education infrastructure. In 1999, Ryan sparked controversy by becoming the first sitting U.S. Governor to meet with Cuban President Fidel Castro. Ryan's visit led to a $1 million donation of humanitarian aid, but drew criticism from anti-Castro groups.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/483496.stm |title=US governor on Cuba mission |work=BBC News |date=October 24, 1999}} In 2000, Ryan served as a chair of the Midwestern Governors Association.

Ryan helped to renew the national debate on capital punishment when, as governor, he declared a moratorium on his state's death penalty on January 31, 2000.{{cite web |title=press-release |url=https://www.illinois.gov/news/press-release.359.html |website=www.illinois.gov |language=en}}{{cite news |title=No Executions in Illinois Until System Is Repaired |first=Dirk |last=Johnson |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/05/21/us/no-executions-in-illinois-until-system-is-repaired.html |date=May 21, 2000 |access-date=December 22, 2009 |work=The New York Times}}

This decision was heavily influenced by lawsuits filed by exonerated prisoners who made false confessions as a result of police torture under the direction of a police commander named Jon Burge.{{Cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-met-jon-burge-dead-20180919-story.html |title=Disgraced ex-Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge, accused of presiding over decades of brutality and torture, has died |last1=Sobol |first1=Rosemary |date=September 19, 2018 |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=January 11, 2019 |last2=Gorner |first2=Jeremy |last3=Heinzmann |first3=David}} "We have now freed more people than we have put to death under our system," he said. "There is a flaw in the system, without question, and it needs to be studied."{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15310-2004Jul26.html |title=A Chilling Look at the Death Penalty |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 26, 2004}} At the time, Illinois had executed 12 people since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1977, with one execution, that of Ripper Crew member Andrew Kokoraleis, occurring early during Ryan's term. Ryan refused to meet with religious leaders and others regarding "a stay of execution" in light of the impending 'moratorium' and other facts relative to the 'flawed' capital punishment system in Illinois; in fact, under Ryan's governorship, 13 people were released from jail after appealing their convictions based on new evidence. Ryan called for a commission to study the issue, while noting, "I still believe the death penalty is a proper response to heinous crimes ... But I believe that it has to be where we don't put innocent people to death."{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/31/ip.00.html |title=Campaign 2000: Insurgents Bradley, McCain Target Independents as N.H. Primary Approaches; Bush Expressing High Hopes; Gore Emphasizing High Road |work=Inside Politics |publisher=CNN |date=January 31, 2000 |access-date=December 22, 2009 |archive-date=August 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100822061720/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0001/31/ip.00.html |url-status=dead}}

The issue had garnered the attention of the public when a death row inmate, Anthony Porter, who had spent 15 years on death row, was within two days of being executed when his lawyers won a stay on the grounds that he may have been mentally disabled. He was ultimately exonerated with the help of a group of student journalists at Northwestern University who had uncovered evidence that was used to prove his innocence. In 1999, Porter was released, charges were subsequently dropped, and another person, Alstory Simon, confessed and pleaded guilty to the crime of which Porter had been erroneously convicted. Simon himself was later released after serving fifteen years for the crime, after it was proven that he, too, was wrongfully accused.{{Cite web |url=http://www.cleveland.com/tipoff/index.ssf/2017/04/alstory_simon_freed_from_priso.html |title=Alstory Simon, freed from prison after wrongful conviction, spends his time in Greater Cleveland working to free others |website=cleveland.com |date=April 28, 2017 |access-date=January 11, 2019}}

On January 11, 2003, just two days before leaving office, Ryan commuted (to life terms) the sentences of everyone on or waiting to be sent to Illinois' death row — a total of 167 convicts — due to his belief that the death penalty could not be administered fairly. He also pardoned four inmates, Aaron Patterson, Madison Hobley and Leroy Orange (all of whom were interrogated by Burge and released), and Stanley Howard. However, Patterson is currently serving 30 years in prison after being arrested for drug trafficking he committed after his release from death row. Howard remains in prison for armed robbery.{{cite web |first=Rob |last=Warden |author-link=Rob Warden |url=http://www.law.northwestern.edu/cwc/exonerations/ilHowardSummary.html |access-date=June 27, 2011 |title=Stanley Howard – The Supreme Court found the evidence "overwhelming", but Governor Ryan found otherwise |publisher=Northwestern School of Law Bluhm Legal Clinic, Center on Wrongful Convictions |location=Chicago, IL}} Ryan declared in his pardon speech that he would have freed Howard if only his attorney had filed a clemency petition; Ryan then strongly urged investigators to examine Howard's alleged robbery case, because it appeared to be as tainted as his murder conviction.{{cite web |url=http://www.freestanleyhoward.com/Home.html |title=Free Stanley Howard |access-date=June 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711035210/http://www.freestanleyhoward.com/Home.html |archive-date=July 11, 2011}}

These were four of ten death row inmates known as the "Death Row 10," due to widely reported claims that the confessions that they had given in their respective cases had been coerced through torture. Ryan was not the first state governor to have granted blanket commutations to death row inmates during his final days in office. Arkansas Governor Winthrop Rockefeller also commuted the sentence of every death row inmate in that state as he left office after losing his 1970 bid for a third two-year term,{{cite web |url=https://arktimes.com/news/arkansas-reporter/2014/02/27/rockefeller-and-death-row |title=Rockefeller and death row |date=February 27, 2014}} as did New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya before he left office in 1986 and Ohio Governor Dick Celeste before he left office in 1990.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

Ryan won praise from death penalty opponents: as early as 2001, he received the Mario Cuomo Act of Courage Award from Death Penalty Focus and in 2003 the Rose Elizabeth Bird Commitment to Justice Award from the same organization. On the other side of the Atlantic, Robert Badinter, who had successfully introduced the bill abolishing the death penalty in France in 1981 praised Ryan's decision."La conscience du gouverneur Ryan", Le Nouvel Observateur, January 16, 2003, p. 39. Many conservatives, though, were opposed to the commutations, some questioning his motives, which came as a federal corruption investigation closed in on the governor and his closest political allies (see below). Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan called Ryan "pathetic", and suggested the governor was attempting to save his public image in hopes of avoiding prison himself. Buchanan noted "Ryan announced his decision to a wildly cheering crowd at the Northwestern University Law School. Families of the victims of the soon-to-be-reprieved killers were not invited."{{cite web |first=Pat |last=Buchanan |author-link=Pat Buchanan |url=http://www.theamericancause.org/patmoralcorruptioninil.htm |title=Moral Corruption in Illinois |date=January 25, 2003 |access-date=June 27, 2011 |publisher=The American Cause |archive-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106171613/http://www.theamericancause.org/patmoralcorruptioninil.htm |url-status=dead}}

File:2007 Governor George Ryan crop4.JPG

Ryan's political career was marred by a scandal called Operation Safe Road, which involved the illegal sale of government licenses, contracts, and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State. In the wake of numerous convictions of his former aides, he chose not to run for reelection in 2002. Seventy-nine former state officials, lobbyists, and others were charged in the investigation, and at least 75 were convicted.{{Cite web |title=Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan Heading to Prison |url=https://www.npr.org/2007/11/06/16051850/former-illinois-gov-george-ryan-heading-to-prison |access-date=February 8, 2025 |website= NPR.org|date=November 6, 2007 |last1=Schaper |first1=David }}

The corruption scandal leading to Ryan's downfall began more than a decade earlier during a federal investigation into a deadly crash in Wisconsin. Six children from the Willis family of Chicago, Illinois, were killed; their parents, Rev. Duane and Janet Willis, were severely burned.{{cite news| url= https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16051850 |title= Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan Heading to Prison| website= NPR.org| date= November 6, 2007| access-date= }} The investigation revealed a scheme inside Ryan's Secretary of State's office in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes.

In March 2003, Scott Fawell, Ryan's former chief of staff and campaign manager, was convicted on federal charges of racketeering and fraud. He was sentenced to six years and six months.{{cite news| url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0509280269sep28,1,5862549.story |title= Most distasteful thing I've ever done' nears for Fawell| website= Chicago Tribune| date= September 28, 2005| publisher= | accessdate= }} Former deputy campaign manager Richard Juliano pleaded guilty to related charges and testified against Fawell at trial. Roger Stanley, a former Republican state representative who was hired by Ryan and testified against Fawell, pleaded guilty to wide-ranging corruption, admitting he paid kickbacks to win state contracts and campaign business, secretly mailed out vicious false attacks on political opponents and helped obtain ghost-payrolling jobs.{{cite news| url= http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-09/news/0305090199_1_state-grant-mail-fraud-money-laundering | work= Chicago Tribune| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20141022212423/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2003-05-09/news/0305090199_1_state-grant-mail-fraud-money-laundering| archivedate= October 22, 2014| date= May 9, 2003| title= Stanley guilty in kickback, payroll scam Former legislator admits mail fraud, money laundering |first1= Matt| last1= O'Connor| first2= Ray| last2= Gibson| access-date= May 19, 2025}}

The investigation finally reached the former governor, and in December 2003, Ryan and lobbyist Lawrence Warner were named in a 22-count federal indictment. The charges included racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering, and tax fraud. The indictment alleged that Ryan steered several state contracts to Warner and other friends; disbursed campaign funds to relatives and to pay personal expenses; and obstructed justice by attempting to end the state investigation of the license-for-bribes scandal. He was charged with lying to investigators and accepting cash, gifts and loans in return for his official actions as governor. On September 19, 2005, the case went to trial.{{Cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-19-na-briefs19.3-story.html |title=Corruption Trial of Ex-Governor to Begin |last=Reports |first=Times Wire |date=September 19, 2005 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US |issn=0458-3035 |access-date=May 9, 2016}}

Fawell, under pressure from prosecutors, became a key witness against Ryan and Warner. He agreed to a plea deal that cut the prison time for himself and his fiancée, Andrea Coutretsis. Fawell was a controversial witness, not hiding his disdain for prosecutors from the witness stand. According to CBS Chicago political editor Mike Flannery, insiders claimed that Fawell had been "much like a son" to Ryan throughout their careers. At Ryan's trial, Fawell acknowledged that the prosecution had his "head in a vise", and that he found his cooperation with the government against Ryan "the most distasteful thing I've ever done". Nonetheless, he spent several days on the witness stand testifying against Ryan and Warner. Once a tough-talking political strategist, Fawell wept on the witness stand as he acknowledged that his motivation for testifying was to spare Coutretsis a long prison sentence for her role in the conspiracy. The jury was twice sent out of the courtroom so that he could wipe tears from his eyes and regain his composure.

Ryan's daughters and a son-in-law, Michael Fairman, were implicated by testimony during the trial. Stipulations agreed upon by the defense and prosecution and submitted to the court included admissions that all five of Ryan's daughters received illegal payments from the Ryan campaign. In addition to Lynda Fairman, who received funds beyond those her husband Michael testified he had received, the stipulations included admissions from the rest of Ryan's daughters that they did little or no work in return for the payments.{{Cite web |date=October 7, 2005 |title=Election funds went to relatives |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2005/10/07/election-funds-went-to-relatives/ |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantrial/31301,cst-nws-ryan191.article |title=Ryan daughter tells of no-work job |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=January 19, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2006 |first=Natasha |last=Korecki |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217162730/http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantrial/31301%2Ccst-nws-ryan191.article |archive-date=December 17, 2008 |url-status=dead}} In addition, Fawell testified that Ryan's mother's housekeeper was illegally paid from campaign funds, and that Ryan's adopted sister, Nancy Ferguson, received campaign funds without performing campaign work. The prosecution took nearly four months to present their case, as a parade of other witnesses (including Juliano) followed Fawell.

On April 17, 2006, the jury found Ryan and Warner guilty on all counts.{{Cite news |last=Falsani |first=Cathleen |date=April 18, 2006 |title='We don't rejoice in the downfall of someone else': Parents who lost 6 kids in crash surprised by verdict, pray for Ryan |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=0FF91654239084E0&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F11112CEDD2444500 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250315052804/https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/11112CEDD2444500&f=basic |archive-date=March 15, 2025 |access-date=March 15, 2025 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |pages=12 |via=NewsBank}} However, when ruling on post-trial motions, the judge dismissed two counts against Ryan for lack of proof.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0609080272sep08,1,5062105.story |title=Ryan judge explains why she dismissed 2 charges |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 8, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115005420/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0609080272sep08%2C1%2C5062105.story |archive-date=November 15, 2007}} Ryan said that he would appeal the verdict, largely due to the issues with the jury.

Patrick Fitzgerald, the federal prosecutor, noted, "Mr. Ryan steered contracts worth millions of dollars to friends and took payments and vacations in return. When he was a sitting governor, he lied to the FBI about this conduct and then he went out and did it again." He charged that one of the most egregious aspects of the corruption was Ryan's action after learning that bribes were being paid for licenses. Instead of ending the practice he tried to end the investigation that had uncovered it, Fitzgerald said, calling the moment "a low-water mark for public service".{{cite news| url= https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/17/us/17cnd-ryan.html| title= Ex-Governor of Illinois Is Convicted on All Charges| work= The New York Times| date= April 17, 2006| accessdate= September 6, 2006}}

On September 6, 2006, Ryan was sentenced to six and a half years in prison.{{cite news| url= http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/ryan06.html| title= Ryan gets 6½ years in prison| work= Chicago Sun-Times| date= September 6, 2006| accessdate= September 6, 2006}} He was ordered to go to prison on January 4, 2007, but the appellate court granted an appeal bond, allowing him to remain free pending the outcome of the appeal.{{cite news| url= http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantrial/153180,ryan112906.article| title= Federal appeals court says Ryan can stay free on bail| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20061130000209/http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantrial/153180,ryan112906.article |archivedate=November 30, 2006| work= Chicago Sun-Times| date= November 29, 2006| accessdate= November 29, 2006}} His conviction was affirmed by the Court of Appeals of the Seventh Circuit on August 21, 2007,{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-web_ryanaug22,1,5669537.story |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130119102246/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-web_ryanaug22,1,5669537.story |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 19, 2013 |title= Ex-Gov. Ryan's guilty verdict stands despite jury controversy |work=Chicago Tribune |date=August 21, 2007 |access-date=August 21, 2007}} and review by the entire Seventh Circuit was denied on October 25, 2007.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ryanappeal_weboct26,0,5267318.story?coll=chi_breaking_500 |title=Ryan loses appeal |work=Chicago Tribune |date=October 25, 2007 |first1=Michael |last1= Higgins |first2=Jeff |last2=Coen| access-date= }} The Seventh Circuit then rejected Ryan's bid to remain free while he asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case; the opinion called the evidence of Ryan's guilt "overwhelming".{{cite news |url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-ryannov01,0,2632094.story |title=Ryan down to last appeal |work=Chicago Tribune |date=November 1, 2007 |first=Michael |last=Higgins |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071112072032/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/northwest/chi-ryannov01%2C0%2C2632094.story |archive-date=November 12, 2007}} The Supreme Court rejected an extension of his bail, and Ryan reported to the Federal Prison Camp in Oxford, Wisconsin, on November 7, 2007.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-ryan06nov06,1,4539.story |title= U.S. Supreme Court turns down Ryan request to remain free |work=Chicago Tribune |date=November 6, 2007}}{{cite news |url= https://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0754401620071107 |title=Former Illinois Governor Ryan enters prison |publisher=Reuters| website= reuters.com |date=November 7, 2007 |first=Michael |last=Conlon}} He was transferred on February 29, 2008, to a medium security facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, after Oxford changed its level of medical care and stopped housing inmates over 70 years old.{{cite news| first= Jason| last= Meisner| url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-george-ryan-prison-transfermar01,0,6717319.story |title= Ex-Gov. Ryan switches prisons| work= Chicago Tribune| date= February 29, 2008| access-date= }} He was listed as Federal Inmate Number 16627-424 and was released on July 3, 2013.{{cite web |url=http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=ryan&Middle=H&FirstName=george&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 |title=Inmate locator: George Ryan |publisher= Federal Bureau of Prisons| website= bop.gov| place= US |access-date=June 27, 2011 |archive-date=June 29, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629133528/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&LastName=ryan&Middle=H&FirstName=george&Race=U&Sex=U&Age=&x=0&y=0 |url-status=dead}}

Ryan's defense was provided pro bono by Winston & Strawn, a law firm managed by former governor Jim Thompson. The defense cost the firm $10 million through mid-November 2005.{{cite news| url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0602030243feb03,1,3957149.story?page=2&coll=chi-news-hed |title= A Christmas card defense| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20071115012600/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0602030243feb03,1,3957149.story?page=2&coll=chi-news-hed |archivedate=November 15, 2007| work= Chicago Tribune| date= February 3, 2006| accessdate= June 24, 2018}} Estimates of the cost to the firm as of September 2006 ranged as high as $20 million. Ryan served as Thompson's lieutenant governor from 1983 to 1991. After the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Ryan's appeal, Thompson indicated that he would ask then-President George W. Bush to commute Ryan's sentence to time served.{{cite news| url= http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantrial/974133,CST-NWS-ryan28.article |title= Ex-Gov. to Bush: Let Ryan go| archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531000332/http://www.suntimes.com/news/georgeryantrial/974133,CST-NWS-ryan28.article |archivedate= May 31, 2008| work= Chicago Sun-Times| date= May 28, 2008| access-date= }} US Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois wrote a letter to Bush dated December 1, 2008, asking him to commute Ryan's sentence, citing Ryan's age and his wife's frail health, saying, "This action would not pardon him of his crimes or remove the record of his conviction, but it would allow him to return to his wife and family for their remaining years."{{cite web |last= Durbin |first=Richard J. |author-link=Dick Durbin |title=Durbin Releases Letter on Commutation for Governor Ryan |date=December 1, 2008 |url= http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=305396 | website= durbin.senate.gov| publisher= US Senate |access-date=December 23, 2008}} Bush did not commute Ryan's sentence.

After his conviction Ryan's annual $197,037 state pension was suspended under state law. Ryan's attorneys litigated the pension matter all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court, which ruled on February 19, 2010, that state law "plainly mandates that none of the benefits provided for under the system shall be paid to Ryan".{{cite web |author=Anonymous |url=http://www.rrstar.com/news/x531837048/Ex-Gov-George-Ryan-must-forfeit-state-pension |title= Ryan-must forfeit State Pension |publisher= |website= rrstar.com |access-date=February 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20120908063831/http://www.rrstar.com/news/x531837048/Ex-Gov-George-Ryan-must-forfeit-state-pension |archive-date=September 8, 2012}} Ryan was paid $635,000 in pension benefits during the three years between his retirement and his political corruption conviction, plus a refund of the $235,500 in personal contributions he made during his 30 years in public office.{{cite web |url= http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/state-supreme-court-to-rule-on-george-ryan-pension-today.html |title=State Supreme Court denies pension for George Ryan |publisher= | website= chicagobreakingnews.com |date=February 19, 2010 |access-date=February 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120118152938/http://archive.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/02/state-supreme-court-to-rule-on-george-ryan-pension-today.html |archive-date=January 18, 2012}}{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-100219-ryan-doc-four-html,0,7450398.htmlpage |title= Illinois Supreme Court Opinion |work=Chicago Tribune |access-date=February 12, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110629040459/http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-100219-ryan-doc-four-html%2C0%2C7450398.htmlpage |archive-date=June 29, 2011}}

In 2010, Ryan requested early release, partly because his wife had terminal cancer and was given only six months to live, and partly on the grounds that some of his convictions should be vacated in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that was alleged to have affected their legitimacy. On December 21, 2010, US District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer denied Ryan's request.{{cite web |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2010-12-21-ct-met-george-ryan-ruling-1222-20101221-story.html |title=Judge refuses to release George Ryan |website= Chicago Tribune |date=December 21, 2010}}

On January 5, 2011, Ryan was taken from his prison cell in Terre Haute, Indiana, to a hospital in Kankakee, Illinois to visit his dying wife. He was present when she died on June 27, five months after that visit.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-attorneys-george-ryans-wife-has-died-20110628,0,6833851.story |work=Chicago Tribune |first1=Becky |last1=Schlikerman |first2=Annie |last2=Sweeney |first3=Rick |last3=Pearson |first4=Ray |last4=Long |title=George Ryan, released from prison, at wife's side when she died |date=June 28, 2011| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20121028061825/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-attorneys-george-ryans-wife-has-died-20110628,0,6833851.story| archivedate= 2012-10-28| url-status= dead| access-date= May 19, 2025}} Ryan entered a Salvation Army halfway house in Chicago on January 30, 2013. Less than three hours later, he was released back to his home in Kankakee where he remained on home confinement until July 3, 2013.{{cite news |last1=Leventis |first1=Angie |last2=Sweeney |first2=Annie |title=George Ryan home after spending just hours at halfway house |url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-george-ryan-arrives-at-halfway-house-20130130,0,1397840.story |work= Chicago Tribune |date=January 30, 2013| url-status= dead| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20130202132901/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-01-30/news/chi-george-ryan-arrives-at-halfway-house-20130130_1_prisons-spokesman-chris-burke-home-confinement-lura-lynn| archivedate= 2013-02-02 |access-date= May 19, 2025}}

On June 10, 1956, Ryan married his high school sweetheart, Lura Lynn Lowe (July 5, 1934 – June 27, 2011), whom he had met in a high school English class. She grew up in Aroma Park, where her family (originally from Germany) had lived since 1834. Her father owned one of the first hybrid seed companies in the United States.{{cite web |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/theeagle/obituary.aspx?n=lura-lynn-ryan&pid=152271297 |title=Lura Lynn Lowe Ryan |date=June 28, 2011 |publisher=legacy.com}} The couple had five daughters (including a set of triplets); Julie, Joanne, Jeanette, Lynda and Nancy;{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/ryan/cst-nws-ryan07.html |title=Fawell: Ryan's family, friends got cash |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=October 7, 2005 |access-date=September 6, 2006}}{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0601190114jan19,1,1462202.story?coll=chi-news-hed |title=Family Members on Payroll |work=Chicago Tribune |date=January 19, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071115095920/http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0601190114jan19%2C1%2C1462202.story?coll=chi-news-hed |archive-date=November 15, 2007}} and one son, George Homer Ryan, Jr.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0509290130sep29,1,3423703.story?coll=chi-news-hed |title=Cast of characters stars in drama made in Illinois |work=Chicago Tribune |date=September 29, 2005 |access-date=September 6, 2006 |first=Ellen |last=Warren}}{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/ryan/ryan173.html |title=Ryan Guilty |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=April 17, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2006}}{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/output/ryan/cst-nws-sneed18.html |title=Michael Sneed's lunch with George Ryan |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=April 18, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2006}}{{cite news |url=http://www.suntimes.com/mobile/6218921-463/lura-lynn-wife-of-former-illinois-gov.-george-ryan-dead-at-76 |title=Lura Lynn dies with husband, ex-Gov. George Ryan, at her side |access-date=June 29, 2011 |date=June 29, 2011 |first1=Natasha |last1=Korecki |author-link=Natasha Korecki |first2=Dave |last2=McKinney |first3=Kim |last3=Janssen |work=Chicago Sun-Times}} Lura Lowe died of lung cancer at Riverside Hospital in Kankakee on June 27, 2011.

Ryan died at his home in Kankakee on May 2, 2025, at the age of 91. He had been in hospice care for several days.{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/former-illinois-gov-george-ryan-who-went-to-prison-for-corruption-dies-at-age-91/3736563/ |title=Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who went to prison for corruption, dies at age 91 |publisher=NBC Chicago |access-date=May 2, 2025 |date=May 2, 2025}}{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/illinois-governor-george-ryan-hospice-executions-46a5ec5191e8820dd6905d57c8e3cd8a |title=Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan dies at 91. He halted executions and went to prison for corruption |last1=O'Connor |first1=John |last2=Wills |first2=Christopher |date=May 2, 2025 |access-date=May 2, 2025 |work=Associated Press}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = 1998 Governor/Lieutenant Governor election{{cite book |editor-last=White |editor-first=Jesse |chapter=History and Election Results |title=Illinois Blue Book 1999-2000 |pages=404–405 |publisher=Illinois Secretary of State |location=Springfield, Illinois |access-date=July 19, 2023 |url=https://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/bb/id/39090}}

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = George Ryan / Corinne Wood

| votes = 1,714,094

| percentage = 51.03

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Glenn Poshard / Mary Lou Kearns

| votes = 1,594,191

| percentage = 47.46

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Reform Party (United States)

| candidate = Lawrence Redmond / Phyllis Nirchi

| votes = 50,372

| percentage = 1.50

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Write-in

| candidate = Other

| votes = 0.00

| percentage = 0.00

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 3,358,705

| percentage = 100

}}

{{election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = 1994 Secretary of State election{{cite web |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1994&off=7&elect=0&fips=17&f=0 |title=1994 Secretary of State General Election Results – Illinois |publisher=Uselectionatlas.org |access-date=April 4, 2015}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party= Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = George H. Ryan (incumbent)

| votes = 1,868,144

| percentage = 60.48

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Pat Quinn

| votes = 1,182,629

| percentage = 38.29

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Libertarian Party (United States)

| candidate = Joseph Schreiner

| votes = 38,074

| percentage = 1.23

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 3,088,847

| percentage = 100

}}

{{election box end}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = 1990 Secretary of State election{{cite web |url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=1990&off=7&elect=0&fips=17&f=0 |title=1990 Secretary of State General Election Results – Illinois |publisher=Uselectionatlas.org |access-date=April 4, 2015}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party= Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = George H. Ryan

| votes = 1,680,531

| percentage = 53.41

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party= Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Jerome Cosentino

| votes = 1,465,785

| percentage = 46.59

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 3,146,316

| percentage = 100

}}

{{election box end}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna28141995 NBC News]

• {{Cite book|author=Ryan Sr., George H. (with Maurice Possley)|title=Until I Could Be Sure: How I Stopped the Death Penalty in Illinois|publisher=L Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|year=2020|isbn=978-1-538-13454-2}}

• {{IMDb name| 1503379}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080208044123/http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/01/11/illinois.death.row/ CNN.com: {{"'}}Blanket commutation' empties Illinois death row", January 11, 2003.]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110728063833/http://www.stopcapitalpunishment.org/bio.html Biography] from site supporting his nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize
• [http://www.suntimes.com/index/ryan.html Chicago Sun-Times archive on The George Ryan Trial] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725021926/http://www.suntimes.com/index/ryan.html |date=July 25, 2008 }}
• [http://lgrossman.com/op/op0900.htm Strange Hero: George Ryan and the death penalty]
• {{C-SPAN|31818}}

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{{s-par|us-il-hs}}

{{s-bef|before=James R. Washburn}}

{{s-ttl|title=Minority Leader of the Illinois House of Representatives|years=1977–1981}}

{{s-aft|after=Michael Madigan}}

|-

{{s-off}}

{{s-bef|before=William A. Redmond}}

{{s-ttl|title=Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives|years=1981–1983}}

{{s-aft|after=Arthur A. Telcser}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|years=1983–1991}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Secretary of State of Illinois|years=1991–1999}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Governor of Illinois|years=1999–2003}}

{{s-aft|after=Rod Blagojevich}}

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{{s-ppo}}

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{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Illinois|years=1982, 1986}}

{{s-aft|after=Bob Kustra}}

|-

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{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Secretary of State of Illinois|years=1990, 1994}}

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|-

{{s-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois|years=1998}}

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{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Illinois}}

{{Lieutenant Governors of Illinois}}

{{Illinois Secretaries of State}}

{{Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, George}}

Category:1934 births

Category:2025 deaths

Category:20th-century American pharmacists

Category:20th-century members of the Illinois General Assembly

Category:21st-century American pharmacists

Category:21st-century Illinois politicians

Category:American businesspeople in retailing

Category:County board members in Illinois

Category:Ferris State University alumni

Category:Illinois politicians convicted of corruption

Category:Lieutenant governors of Illinois

Category:Military personnel from Illinois

Category:People from Kankakee, Illinois

Category:People from Maquoketa, Iowa

Category:Pharmacists from Illinois

Category:Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud

Category:Politicians convicted of racketeering

Category:Republican Party governors of Illinois

Category:Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives

Category:Secretaries of state of Illinois

Category:Speakers of the Illinois House of Representatives

Category:United States Army personnel of the Korean War

Category:United States Army soldiers