Dec 2, 2008 4:51 pm US/Central
Kirk To Bush: No Pardon For Ryan
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
While U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin has written a letter asking President Bush to pardon former Gov. George Ryan, U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk has no such thoughts.
Kirk sent a letter to the president Tuesday urging him not to pardon Ryan, who has been in federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., for a year.
"George Ryan betrayed the public trust, was convicted beyond the shadow of a doubt by a jury of his peers and lost all of his appeals," Kirk wrote. "His crimes struck at the fabric of our democracy and invited a new wave of public corruption in Illinois."
Ryan, 74, was convicted in April 2006 of federal racketering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud. Prosecutors said he steered state contracts to friends in exchange for gifts, cash and other perks.
He began serving a 6 1/2 year sentence in November 2007 after a federal appellate court upheld his conviction and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.
"If we are to stop corruption at the highest levels and restore the public's trust, then this prisoner should serve as similar criminals who cannot hope that political favor can adjust their sentence," Kirk wrote in his letter to Bush.
"Today, as U.S. Attorney (Pat) Fitzgerald investigates and prosecutes further allegations of public corruption in Springfield, I urge you not to embolden the corrupt and criminal by pardoning or commuting George Ryan's sentence."
Durbin announced Nov. 26 that he was weighing a call for a pardon after hearing from Ryan's wife, Lura Lynn, about the personal loss her husband's imprisonment has had on the family.
Primarily because Ryan has not shown contrition, three former federal prosecutors who tried Ryan called on Bush not to grant a pardon or commute his sentence.
Also opposed are Andy McKenna, chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, and a juror who convicted Ryan, who said it would set a bad precedent.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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