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George Homer Ryan (born February 24 , 1934 in Maquoketa, Iowa ) was the Governor of the U.S. State of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. Although Ryan "raised the national debate on Capital Punishment " by issuing a moratorium on executions in 2000 {Link without Title} , he was dogged for many years by corruption and racketeering charges that led to his retiring from politics in 2003, and to criminal convictions in 2006. EARLY LIFE Ryan grew up in in Kankakee County, Illinois . He attended Ferris State College of Pharmacy (now Ferris State University ) in Big Rapids, Michigan , and built a successful chain of family-run pharmacies. He is a member of the under Governor James R. Thompson (1983-1991), two as Secretary Of State (1991-1999), and one as Governor (1999-2003). He was elected Governor in 1998, defeating his Democratic opponent, U.S. Representative Glenn Poshard , by a 51%–47% share of the vote. Ryan was considered a moderate Republican; his pro- Abortion and - Gun Control stances positioned Ryan to the political left of his Democratic opponent. ACCOMPLISHMENTS AS GOVERNOR 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. He also 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. OPPOSITION TO CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Ryan first gained national attention in the area of capital punishment when, as governor, he declared a moratorium on his state's death penalty in 2000. "We have now freed more people than we have put to death under our system — 13 people have been exonerated and 12 have been put to death. There is a flaw in the system, without question, and it needs to be studied. {Link without Title} . 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 want to make sure ... that the person who is put to death is absolutely guilty." The issue had garnered the attention of the public when a death row inmate, Anthony Porter , who had spent 15 years on death row and was within two days of being executed, was 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 Porter had been erroneously convicted of. Ultimately, on January 11 , 2003 just 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 (who were released), and Stanley Howard (who remained in prison due to a separate conviction). 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 police torture. SCANDALS AND CORRUPTION Ryan's term was marked by a scandal involving 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 former aides, he chose not to run for reelection in 2002. In December 2003 he was indicted on 18 federal racketeering, fraud and conspiracy charges. His trial started in September 2005. The scandals are widely believed to have hurt Republicans' short- (and, perhaps long-) term chances for re-winning Illinois' governorship; state Attorney General Jim Ryan (no relation) lost to Rod Blagojevich in the 2002 election, ending 25 years of Republican governorships. All told, seventy-nine former state officials, lobbyists, truck drivers and others have been since charged in the investigation, and at least 76 have been convicted. {Link without Title} The corruption scandal that led to Ryan's downfall began over a decade earlier as a federal investigation into a deadly crash in Wisconsin that killed six children. The investigation revealed a scheme inside the Ryan's secretary of state's office in which unqualified truck drivers obtained licenses through bribes. As the AP wrote: "The probe expanded over the next eight years into a wide-ranging corruption investigation that eventually reached Ryan in the governor's office." {Link without Title} Trial and conviction In late 2005, George Ryan (along with lobbyist friend Larry Warner ) went to trial for racketeering and bribery. Ryan was represented on a Pro Bono basis by the law firm Winston & Strawn, led by nationally-known attorney Dan K. Webb. Winston & Strawn's chairman is former 4-time Illinois governor, and state political legend, James R. "Big Jim" Thompson. On April 17, 2006, the Jury found Ryan and Warner guilty on all counts. Sentencing is scheduled for August 4, 2006. Ryan faces up to 20 years in prison for racketeering conspiracy, the most serious of the charges in the 22-count indictment. Ryan said that he would appeal the verdict. 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 F.B.I. about this conduct and then he went out and did it again." He charged that one of 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." {Link without Title} Two of the original jurors were dismissed after it was revealed they had lied on their juror questionnaires. They falsely claimed having never faced criminal charges, causing the jury to be impaneled with alternate jurors who were previously dismissed by the judge. Because of this — regardless of whether Ryan is guilty of the charges — his appeal may lead to having the verdict set aside, resulting in a new trial or a plea bargain. ELECTORAL HISTORY
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