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Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. | 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 [1], 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. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
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February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ...
1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...
Maquoketa --nicknamed the Timber City-- is a city located in Jackson County, Iowa. ...
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. ...
A state of the United States (U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states, four of which officially favor the term commonwealth which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ...
Official language(s) English Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Area - Total - Width - Length - % water - Latitude - Longitude Ranked 25th 149,998 km² 340 km 629 km 4. ...
// Capital punishment, or the death penalty, is governmental killing by execution as punishment for a crime often called a capital offense or a capital crime. ...
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. Kankakee County is a county located in the state of Illinois. ...
Ferris State University is an institute of higher learning whose main campus is located in Big Rapids, Michigan, in Mecosta County, with a secondary campus in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and smaller programs located throughout the region. ...
Big Rapids is a city located in Mecosta County, Michigan. ...
He is a member of the Republican Party and became one of the most successful politicians in Illinois history, never losing an election while serving on the Kankakee County Board (1968-1973), in the Illinois House of Representatives (1973-1983), which included two terms as Minority Leader and one term as Speaker, and a record five terms in statewide office: two as Lt. Governor 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. RepresentativeGlenn 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. The Republican Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States two-party system, the other one being the Democratic Party. ...
The Illinois House of Representatives convenes at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. ...
A Lieutenant Governor is a government official who is the subordinate or deputy of a Governor or Governor-General. ...
James Robert Thompson (born May 8, 1936), also known as Big Jim Thompson, was the longest-serving Governor of the U.S. state of Illinois. ...
In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ...
The Democratic Party is one of the two major political parties in the United States, the other one being the Republican Party. ...
The House of Representatives is the larger of two houses that make up the U.S. Congress, the other being the United States Senate. ...
Glenn Poshard (born October 30, 1945 in Herald, Illinois) is an American politician and public servant. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Gun politics. ...
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. [2]. 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. Anthony Porter (born 1955) was a prisoner on death row whose conviction was overturned in a landmark case for Illinois law and opponents of the death penalty across the world. ...
For other schools named Northwestern please see Northwestern College. ...
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. January 11 is the 11th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Death Row is a term used in some countries including the United States which refers to the section of a prison which houses people awaiting execution. ...
Leroy Orange was born on 20 July 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. ...
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. [3] Jim Ryan served as Illinois Attorney General from 1994 to 2002. ...
Rod R. Blagojevich ( ▶ (help· info), born December 10, 1956) is an American politician from the state of Illinois. ...
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." [4]
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. Pro bono is a phrase derived from Latin meaning for the good. The complete phrase is pro bono publico, for the public good. It is used to designate legal or other professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment, as a public service. ...
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. A jury is a sworn body of persons convened to render a rational, impartial verdict and a finding of fact on a legal question officially submitted to them, or to set a penalty or judgment in a jury trial of a court of law. ...
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." [5] Patrick J. Fitzgerald Patrick J. Fitzgerald, JD (born December 22, 1960) is an American attorney and the current U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. ...
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 Glenn Poshard (born October 30, 1945 in Herald, Illinois) is an American politician and public servant. ...
External links
David C. ONeil (1937-) was Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1977-1982. ...
The Lieutenant Governor of Illinois is the secondary chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the lieutenant governor has specific jurisdiction. ...
James Edgar (born January 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. ...
In several countries, Secretary of State is a senior government position. ...
Jesse White (born June 23, 1934) is a Democratic American politician. ...
James Edgar (born January 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the Governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. ...
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. ...
Rod R. Blagojevich ( ▶ (help· info), born December 10, 1956) is an American politician from the state of Illinois. ...
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