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* As if we don’t already have enough distractions in Illinois politics, Big Jim wants another…
Former Illinois Governor George Ryan will ask President Barack Obama to commute his 6-and-a-half-year sentence for political corrupption. That’s according to former Governor Jim Thompson, one of Ryan’s lawyers.
* More…
THOMPSON: President Obama knows Governor Ryan, worked with him in Springfield, and I think can feel more personally the loss that the governor has suffered.
In the past, Mr. Obama’s office declined to comment on Ryan’s request.
Thompson says the new application will hopefully include more letters of support for the Ryan’s release. But Thompson says it’ll make the same basic arguments, including that Ryan’s continued imprisonment doesn’t appear to have deterred other politicians from corrupt activities.
WBEZ has posted the raw audio of its interview with Thompson on this page.
* Related…
* Sun-Times: System worked in Ryan case
* George Ryan nominated again for Nobel Peace Prize
posted by Rich Miller
Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 10:43 am
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Need to give Big Jim points for trying. He is certainly sticking by his client.
Comment by zatoichi Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 10:46 am
If you check the News-Gazette you will see that Ryan was nominated for nobel peace prize for his anti-death penalty stance too.
Comment by John Bambenek Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 10:47 am
Wow. Just wow. He should get out of jail and be forgiven his crimes because his imprisonment hasn’t deterred other politicians from being criminals?!? This is so morally and logically devoid of any substance that I’m nearly speechless. I’d like to think that my 5 year-old son could piece together more sound logic than that.
Comment by BigDog Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 10:48 am
Hey Jimbo!
How about helping us extract the current criminal from the Governor’s Office and into jail before you start asking us to release the last criminal we had as governor from jail?
How many more insults do we as Illinoians need to endure with these governors?
Including you Jimbo!
Stop it!
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 10:58 am
Awwww….well, the children that were killed due to Gov Ryan’s corrupt SoS office are still dead.
So, while it may be true that his prison sentence hasn’t stopped another Governor from being all corrupt, until he can bring those kids back from the dead, he should stay right where he’s at.
And, for all the bad Blago has done, at least he his corruption isn’t responsible for any kids being killed.
Comment by jerry 101 Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 10:58 am
I could’ve seen Bush pardoning Ryan, but President Obama? At this stage of the game? President Obama pardoning Ryan now would be political poison for Obama.
Comment by HoBoSkillet Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:00 am
Doesn’t Big Jim have anything better to do since snoozing on the Board of Directors while his chum Conrad Black looted the store at the Sun-Times?
Comment by GOP'er Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:00 am
Is this the same Jim Thompson whose law firm, until recently, represented Blagojevich?
If he’s arguing that Blagojevich was in fact corrupt, I’d say there’s either a breach of attorney-client privilege or atleast a conflict of interest in there somewhere…
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:03 am
I am not sure when Thompson decided to become the voice of the corrupt people but it is rather astounding how this man wants to be the front man for all this nonsense. Whether it is defending Blago, Ryan or Lord Black, doesn’t he have a spokesperson so he doesn’t leave such a bad taste in peoples mouths when they think of him later. He has this nose stuck in the air appearance that comes across so arrogant and entitled that it can’t be doing his clients any good.
Comment by Phineas J. Whoopee Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:04 am
The “hasn’t deterred” argument is weird. In fact, you could better use it as an argument to make Ryan serve his full sentence. Maybe that’s the deterrence.
I don’t think Obama will consider it. He’s had enough trouble in Illinois with Blago and Burris, and he’s got a lot on his plate.
But if he’s going to do it, he should do it now during his honeymoon.
Comment by wordslinger Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:04 am
What part of NO does Crooked George not understand. He did the crime, now do the time. He could have been sentenced to more, serve what you got.
Comment by Dan S, a Voter and Cubs Fan Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:05 am
I hate to defend GR, but the accident that killed the children was not related to improper driving or inspection of the trailer that lost a part.
That being said, I believe the standard process of shortening the sentence should apply. No special favors for the formerly powerful.
Comment by Plutocrat03 Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:08 am
We will no doubt have to endure George Ryan being continually nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as long as Francis A. Boyle, a longtime University of Illinois professor of International Law and Human Rights, is alive. Boyle seems to think his boy George is deserving of such award. Thankfully, the Nobel Committee has not agreed with Boyle.
My prediction is George will have to sit a while longer right where he is. He may get out early, but it’s not going to be anytime real soon.
Comment by Little Egypt Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:08 am
Ah Big Jim! Not so fast my friend! Imprisonment HAS deterred politicians from committing further crimes. George Ryan!
Comment by SpfldJimbo Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:11 am
So I guess we should just empty out all the prisons. The prisons are full and people are still committing crimes, so by thompsons logic prison is not a deterance to criminal activity.
Comment by prowler Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:11 am
Blagojevich: “As former Illinois governor and former attorney general Big Jim Thompson so accurately put it today, the prison sentencing of former governor George Ryan failed to halt corruption in government. So you see the corruption that I have been wrongly accused of, is due to this failure of justice. Accordingly, I will announce the formation of a new executive committee to investigate the failure of the justice system, and to recommend alternatives to incarceration for myself and others who served the hard working people of Illinois in extra-legal fashion.”
Comment by VanillaMan Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:13 am
George must really be on Big Jim’s case, maybe threatening to spill his guts.
Some folks may have forgotten that George once served as Lt. Governor under Gov. Thompson.
George knows where all the Thompson bodies are buried and he knows every closet with a skeleton.
I can just imagine the collect phone calls from George to Jim, “Everything I did I learned from you. Get me out of here!!!”
Comment by Methinks he doth protest too much Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:14 am
Forgettaaboutit George!
You”ll have a new cell mate soon.
Comment by Running with scissors Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:15 am
Plutocrat03 - You are partially but not entirely correct about the truck accident.
The accident that killed the 6 Willis children, and they have names - BEN, JOSEPH, SAMUEL, HANK, ELIZABETH, and PETER - was caused by a part that ultimately fell from a truck. After the Willis minivan ran over it, the part punctured and ruptured the gas tank of the minivan causing an inferno which incinerated those precious children. The trucker did not speak nor understand English and thus did not comprehend what was happening to his truck when other drivers on the highway were trying to alert him. The truck driver obtained his CDL ILLEGALLY. Had he obtained it legally, he would have needed to understand the basic English language and thus, the accident could have possibly been prevented. In fact, he probably would not have been given a CDL. It all goes back to GR’s fundraising with a huge arrow pointing to GR. It seems really simple for most Illinois residents to understand.
Comment by Little Egypt Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:17 am
Just wondering if Thompson is working this hard because he knows he could have been in the same position except for luck?
gov. goofy is a special case; there’s no way to know how much ‘deterence’ Ryan’s continuing jail time is. Could be quite a lot.
One quick way for Obama to squander political capitol in this State is for him to commute after Bushie didn’t. Maybe ‘big’ jim is just going senile?
Comment by sal-says Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:19 am
At one point, I thought that Durbin was pressing this issue with the sole purpose of reminding voters (and the media) that a former GOP governor were just as corrupt as Blagojevich.
The fact that Jim Thompson keeps pressing this story into the media is certainly a good example of how there is little leadership at the top of the Republican Party in Illinois.
In the middle of the biggest PR disaster for the Democrats since - well, maybe - ever in Illinois, Republicans keep reminding the voters that Republicans are corrupt too.
It defies logic and makes you wonder if the GOP will ever get it together in this state again.
Comment by Madison County Watcher Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:48 am
LE, unless my memory has been too dulled by time, I don’t think you have to speak English to get a driver’s license in Illinois.
Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:51 am
Little E
While the driver did get his CDL illegally, the story of him not speaking English is not entirely true. (It is not unknown to have defendants deny knowing English when involved in a lawsuit) I challenge you to communicate with a driver of a moving truck. Its not easy without a radio and not all drivers carry a CB. Furthermore, if you did get through to the driver, how was he supposed to go back and retrieve the part? Walk, drive to the next exit and return? All this would take time. It is unlikely that the desired task would have been accomplished in the time available to prevent the accident.
It is convenient to blame GR for this accident, but the trailer would have been on the highway, carrying the same cargo, at the same place and time with a different driver.
Comment by plutocrat03 Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:55 am
Steve,
Actually, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. My Hispanic father-in-law is a legally licensed truck driver in NY who failed the IL CDL test many times because he had difficulty with the written portion. He knew all the right answers, but the CDL test was only offered in English, and he had trouble understanding some of the phraseology. Passenger vehicle tests may be offered in Spanish, but CDL tests were not, at least not in 2002-2003 (when he gave up trying to pass in IL and moved back to NY).
Comment by South Side Mike Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 11:58 am
===I challenge you to communicate with a driver of a moving truck===
I used to do it all the time when I was a kid, using the arm-pumping motion to get them to blow their horn. It worked quite a lot.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:01 pm
Mike, I know you can use a translator for the written questions, same as someone who can’t read can do
Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:02 pm
Thank you, Jim Thompson.
Comment by Shelbyville Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:06 pm
plutocrat3,
The reports at the time indicate that many truck drivers nearby to the incident tried repeatedly to communicate to the driver of the truck involved in the horrible tragedy. It was reported that they used the CB radio with no response, honked their horns at the driver repeatedly and waved at the driver to try to get his attention. The driver later admitted he saw these efforts but didn’t respond since he was afraid his illegal status/license would be discovered and he would get in trouble. It is even worse when you realize that the driver saw the problem with the loose part prior to leaving the yard with it but declined to complain since he believed he would lose his job/license if he made too much about the loose part. This all comes back to an illegal alien paying a bribe to get a license he was not prepared to get and it all goes back to GR whose corrupt scheme made this possible. If this isn’t a straight line from GR to that scene on that highway I don’t know what is.
Comment by dupage dan Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:06 pm
George Ryan and his family have suffered enough. Let him out!!
Comment by Northshore Sox Fan Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:08 pm
plutocrat03, I think the argument is that had he obtained his CDL legally, he would have known how to do a pre-trip inspection on his truck and then possibly noticed the loose part. Not that I agree with it that this would have happened IRL.
Comment by Former State Employee 2 Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:08 pm
That may be so, Steve, but I doubt that option was ever offered to my father-in law, or else he would have taken it. I will double-check.
I do know that the CDL version of Rules of the Road was only printed in English, because my wife and her sisters would try to help him understand the differences between NY and IL law. We lived in Chicago at the time, and he could never get a Spanish copy.
Comment by South Side Mike Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:12 pm
Put aside any relationship Ryan might have had as a proximate cause of the accident that killed the Willis children (something he was never charged with) - it was the shutting down of the Inspector General’s office and the internal investigation of licenses for bribes that made this a top priority for the Feds.
George didn’t do what he could have done to limit the chances of similar tragic accidents happening again.
That’s why this matter is so serious and why George doesn’t deserve such an early release.
Comment by GOP'er Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:13 pm
GOP’er,
I understand that the trial was not about the Willis tragedy. There was, as you mention, plenty of evidence of GR’s cover-up which resulted in his conviction. Any claim by Big J that early release is justifiable is absurd.
Comment by dupage dan Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:20 pm
Pluto, if memory serves me correctly, other drivers were trying to communicate with the trucker about the “dangling” part that had not yet fallen off. I have passed truckers before and noticed a side storage door to be open. I have merely gotten their attention and pointed to their truck. They have then pulled over and closed the door. I believe if anyone drives next to a trucker and simply points to any area of the vehicle, the driver knows there is a need for attention. You are correct that this same truck would have been on the highway. I believe that IF the driver had some comprehension of the English language, he could have been made aware of a problem sooner rather than later.
Steve, I believe your memory has beeb dulled regarding this subject. I’ve checked it out. You can too.
Comment by Little Egypt Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:33 pm
Now, Thompson is joining a list of current and former Governors who embarrassed the State of Illinois.
Comment by Ron Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:33 pm
Obama would be smart not to leave this alone!
Comment by Levois Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:33 pm
Is George so self involved that he’s failed to notice what’s happening in Illinois right now? Is he still in denial of how he betrayed the citizens of Illinois?
Obama has more sense and George can sit in prison and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
Comment by sneaker Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:35 pm
I can understand Jim Thompson’s motivation for wanting George Ryan to be let out of prison, the two men are old friends.
No matter how guilty, no matter the facts of the case, Jim Thompson is going to continue to pull every string he can in order to get GR out of the clink.
That does not make Thompson’s actions right, or justified, but I understand how old friendships can blind someone to the reality of the situation.
Comment by Speaking At Will Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:39 pm
Rich, as a member of the Union League Club you may find it of interest to note that it was the ULC’s Sub-Committee on Administration of Justice (chaired by Bill Nissen of Sidley Austin), that issued the resolution calling on then-Governor Ryan to declare a moratorium on executions in the state.
Needing an issue he hoped might salvage his reputation, two weeks later Ryan did just that.
If anyone deserves the Nobel Prize nomination, its Bill Nissen and the Union League Club, not Ryan.
As for Big Jim’s most recent ploy, he’s someone who sold his integrity to the highest bidder a very long time ago. His conduct can no longer surprise any of us in Illinois, although it continues to shame all of us.
Comment by Nobel Prize Committee Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:41 pm
I wonder if Senator Durbin will personally urge his good friend President Obama to release Governor Ryan, like he did with President Bush? If so, it’s a slam dunk. I heard Durbin refer to himself as the “First Friend” on WGN recently.
Comment by N'ville Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:42 pm
===If anyone deserves the Nobel Prize nomination, its Bill Nissen and the Union League Club===
Now, wouldn’t that be fun?
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:42 pm
It seems to me that the party MOST responsible for the Willis tragedy is the trucking company which freely chose to 1) hire an unqualified driver who also happened to be an illegal alien (meaning he could be easily exploited), 2) pay to get that driver a license he didn’t merit and 3) put an unsafe truck on the road. Did the head of the trucking company ever answer for those things?
Comment by Secret Square Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 12:54 pm
If George Ryan’s imprisonment hasn’t deterred other politicians from corrupt activities, and I agree it hasn’t, isn’t that all the more reason to keep Ryan in?
Comment by Cheswick Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 1:25 pm
Gack!
Comment by Ahem Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 1:30 pm
There is no way Obama will pardon or commute Ryan’s sentence. It’s silly silly silly.
The uproar would be deafening.
Barring terminal illness George will serve out his sentence. If he had a few months to live Obama MIGHT commute the sentence. I wouldn’t bet on it though
Comment by IrishPirate Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 1:45 pm
Let’s make a deal with the Kingdom of Norway.
Ryan gets the Nobel Prize, he gets deported to Norway.
Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 1:53 pm
How about Ryan gets the Nobel and Blago is deported to Norway?
Comment by Zora Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 2:25 pm
Good grief…….thanks big Jim for not letting a slow news day go by without Illinois politics being aired nationally. How absolutely goofy your reasoning is regarding deterring others from doing wrong. Geesh, why not just empty all the prisons. I can’t for a moment believe Obama would help in this lost cause.
Comment by Justice Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 2:29 pm
“Why not just empty all the prisons” - wait a minute, Blago can still pardon people, right? He can’t help GR but he could sure make a mess. If his senatorial appointment sticks, so might his pardons of convicts.
Comment by Excessively rabid Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 2:59 pm
Wait, didn’t Castro free a bunch of felons who were sent to the US? Worked well for him.
Comment by plutocrat03 Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 3:05 pm
Rich
When you want to have a driver sound a horn, that works. There is no universally understood signal that communicates pull over your truck has a problem.
As far as some of the other issues involved, go back to the legal record. Many of the items mentioned here are not there. Due to the nature of the failure, no driver would have caught that nearly failed part except by accident. CBs are common, but not required or universal.
Not sure how truck drivers are hired, but I bet if you place a CDL on the table most employers will check your record for tickets and accidents and (perhaps incorrectly) assume you are here legally.
Comment by plutocrat03 Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 3:16 pm
Steve Schnorf….I believe the FMCSR’s, relative to Driver Qualifications state that Commercial Driver Requirements are:
Speak and read English well enough to:
*Converse with the general public.
*Understand traffic signs and signals.
*Respond to official questions.
*Be able to make legible entries on reports and records.
I may be a bit rusty, but I believe them to be accurate.
Comment by SpfldJimbo Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 3:31 pm
I pray that Governor Ryan’s sentence is commuted soon. And I applaud him (again) for his Nobel Prize nomination (U. of I. Law professort Frances Boyle nominated him today).
Comment by Black Ivy Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 4:05 pm
I guess because people still commit murder, it has no deterrent effect to imprison murderers and we should let them all out.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 5:45 pm
SpfldJimbo-sounds reasonable to me
Comment by steve schnorf Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 7:46 pm
“Rich, as a member of the Union League Club you may find it of interest to note that it was the ULC’s Sub-Committee on Administration of Justice (chaired by Bill Nissen of Sidley Austin), that issued the resolution calling on then-Governor Ryan to declare a moratorium on executions in the state.
I’m sorry I guess I don’t understand. So Bill Nissen and/or the ULC came up with this extraordinarily unique idea of declaring a moratorium, or is this meant to be interpreted as it was the ULC’s resolution that “forced” Ryan to do something he wouldn’t have otherwise done?
Some people didn’t agree with what Ryan did, so enquiring minds want to know.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 9:07 pm
Must have been high-fives all around Sidley and the ULC just a couple of weeks later because of the “influence” you guys had on Ryan, and now it’s your idea?
Why didn’t you guys stand up and fess up to that when Ryan was being “crucified” for it?
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 9:22 pm
I’ve stated my position on this before so I won’t state it again, but I can EVERY reason in the world why Obama should consider this.
There are very few others who would have had the guts to even try to do something like this–whatever their motivation.
And now we’ve got all these people coming out of the woodwork who want to take credit for it?!!!!
Just when one thought it couldn’t get any lower.
Comment by Anonymous Thursday, Jan 22, 09 @ 9:33 pm
To: Rich and Anonymous @ 9:07, 9:22, 9:33,
Bill Nissen and his sub-committee at the Union League Club conducted a detailed examination of the death penalty issue that stretched over many, many months and involved mountains of documents and data. Upon completion of their examination, the sub-committee proposed a resolution calling for the moratorium. The club’s board of directors studied the issue further, voting to approve and promulgate the resolution. On January 23, 2000, a press release was issued and subsequent news reports were widely published.
On January 30, (one week later, not two as indicated above), Governor Ryan issued his moratorium.
The resolution did not “force” Ryan to do anything, nor did the club claim any influence over Ryan — although the clarity of the argument presented by the resolution was certainly persuasive and forceful. Nor is anyone coming out of the proverbial woodwork to claim credit. This is simply the public record.
By the way, the Union League DID defend the issuance of the moratorium.
What Ryan was vociferously criticized for was not the issuance of the moratorium, but the subsequent across-the-board commutation of 167 death sentences irrespective of the facts of the individual cases.
Interestingly enough, prior to all the news reports about the Union League resolution, Ryan showed little interest in the topic. But he did show that he wasn’t above using the issue in an attempt to extricate himself from his dire political circumstances and rehabilitate his image.
Nominating George Ryan to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for a cynical and politically expedient act is as absurd as nominating Bill Clinton for the Nobel Peace Prize because he pardoned Marc Rich.
Comment by Nobel Prize Committee Friday, Jan 23, 09 @ 7:59 am
Nobel Prize Committee, thanks for the explanation. I guess I only have two or three quick points to make, and then I’m done.
=======================
“What Ryan was vociferously criticized for was not the issuance of the moratorium, but the subsequent across-the-board commutation of 167 death sentences irrespective of the facts of the individual cases.”
==================
While I agree that the commutations were and continue to be a heated topic, I believe you conveniently left one critical group out of your analysis: those who disagreed with the moratorium, as well.
=======================
“Interestingly enough, prior to all the news reports about the Union League resolution, Ryan showed little interest in the topic. But he did show that he wasn’t above using the issue in an attempt to extricate himself from his dire political circumstances and rehabilitate his image.”
====================
The second sentence is nothing more than speculation on your part. I’m also surprised that having drawn such a conclusion without being able to PROVE that Ryan had little or no prior interest in the moratorium, you’d be willing to even share with others so publicly that his actions therefore had to be less than noble.
Again, you seem to be ignoring one critical point: Knowing that there were both Rs and Ds, who were strongly opposed to the the moratorium itself–and clearly realizing the political risk involved–most would have been hesitant to discuss the subject issue prior to making such a final decision, except with perhaps a small group of highly-trusted advisors. Therefore, no one will be able to state without a doubt what Ryan’s motivations were–but some will obviously continue to use that fact to sling mud at him.
Ryan–and only Ryan–was in a unique position to issue the moratorium.
Ryan–and only Ryan–did so.
Think what you will of him personally. You’re obviously entitled to your opinion regarding whether he should have an early release or not. However, please do us the courtesy of not trying to somehow claim that the research conducted by the ULC–along with the issuance of the resolution–was the equivalent of taking the action that only Ryan could take, or that anyone else but Ryan could have suffered the potential rammifications of making taking such a move.
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Jan 23, 09 @ 8:29 pm
And, I should add, that only Ryan is therefore in the position to take credit for it.
Therefore, if he gets the Nobel Peace Prize, it’s his and his alone, but I’d guess that in his acceptance, he’d be gracious enough to recognize others he feels might have contributed to the getting the award, such as the ULC.
Comment by Anonymous Monday, Jan 26, 09 @ 7:36 pm