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CHICAGO (CBS) ― State politicians voiced their opinions today after former Gov. George Ryan was found guilty in his five-month corruption trial.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich said Ryan's conviction "proves that no one is above the law."

Ryan was convicted today of mail fraud, racketeering conspiracy and other charges after a five-month trial. His trial capped an eight-year investigation of corruption during his tenure as secretary of state and governor.

Blagojevich said the trial proves that the government is "supposed to exist for the good of the people, not the other way around."

And he added that those who serve in government shouldn't do so for the "personal enrichment."

Blagojevich's campaign also issued a statement, saying Monday's verdict proves "once more that a culture of corruption and mismanagement was tolerated during his Administration. It is further evidence that the old way of doing things cheated the people of Illinois."

The campaign also said Blagojevich has made the government "work for the people" and listed strides in health care and cutting government waste.

"We can't afford as a state to go back to the corruption and mismanagement that gave us a $5 billion deficit and today's verdict," the statement read.

State Treasurer Judy Baar Topinka said Ryan's racketeering conviction makes this "a sad day for Illinois."

"Now that the jury has spoken, it's time for all of us to move forward with a renewed commitment to honoring the public's trust by upholding the highest standards of honesty and integrity in government," Topinka said.

Topinka is the GOP's candidate for governor in the November election.

The Ryan verdict exposes a pattern of corruption in Illinois government, she said, adding that it's time for the state to move forward and renew the public's trust.

U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said the verdict "sends a clear, serious and sobering message to all of those who pursue careers in public service - no one is above the law, nor should they be. Those who serve the public trust must not abuse it."

Jackson added that "the guilty verdict makes it clear that the culture of corruption long associated with Illinois, and especially Chicago, will no longer be tolerated."

Other Illinois politicians were quick to react to Monday's verdict in the strongest possible terms.

Secretary of State Jesse White took over that office after George Ryan.

"It's a sad day for the people of the State of Illinois when a former governor and a former secretary of state is convicted for a crime. It really disturbs us all when that happens," he said.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn says the verdict is a vindication for whistleblowers and state laws that protect.

Quinn was among the first politicians to claim there was a culture of corruption in George Ryan's secretary of state's office when he ran against him 12 years ago.

"In 1994, on Election Day, was the tragic day when the Willis children were killed in that crash. I lost the election by a huge margin. It was about 60 percent to 40 percent," Quinn said. "But I knew in my heart in that election campaign, I had spoken the truth. And it took a while, a dozen years, for the truth finally to be affirmed by a jury."

Former U.S. Attorney and now Illinois Inspector General Jim Burns inherited the job of cleaning up corruption in the secretary of state's office.

"You never get personal satisfaction out of seeing somebody go to jail," he said. "In the inspector general's office of the secretary of state, we feel satisfaction and, to some extent, vindication with this verdict."

Burns says he wasn't surprised by the verdict of guilty on all counts because he insists corruption was pervasive under Ryan.

One of the first persons to blow the whistle on Ryan said the guilty verdict brings relief and closure.

Tammy Raynor worked at the McCook facility. She saw truckers paying bribes to get licenses. No one listened then.

"It made me angry," she said. "I wanted the conviction because I wanted it as a deterrent. And so now that that's been provided, I'm tremendously proud of whatever my part was in this."

Raynor is now an inspector in the internal investigations unit at the office of the secretary of state.

The head of an ethics watchdog group says today's conviction of former Governor George Ryan on racketeering and fraud charges points up the need for tighter ethics laws.

Cynthia Canary is director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. She says the greed that leads politicians like Ryan to trade state contracts for political donations is as prevalent as ever in Illinois.

Canary says she'd like the state to limit the size of campaign donations and restrict state contracts for campaign donors.

Lawmakers in Springfield today said Ryan's conviction is a sad moment for the state, but goes to show that no one is above the law.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)