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* Fitz is staying out of the fray…
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald won’t say publicly what he thinks about some politicians’ calls to free George Ryan from prison. Fitzgerald’s office prosecuted the corruption case against the former Illinois governor.
FITZGERALD: The way the system is set up, if the White House or the Justice Department asks a U.S. Attorney’s office for their opinion, we’ll give them our candid opinion privately, but we’re not going to opine publicly.
It’s not too difficult to imagine what that “candid opinion” would be.
* But Mark Kirk jumps right in…
Rejecting an idea endorsed by two top Democrats, Republican North Shore Rep. Mark Kirk sent a letter to the White House [yesterday] asking President George Bush not to commute the federal corruption sentence of former Republican Gov. George Ryan.
* As does Kirk’s fellow GOP congresscritter Tim Johnson…
“I am 100 percent and strongly opposed to any pardon for George Ryan,” added Johnson.
Um, Tim, he’s not asking for a pardon.
* Other politicos are tip-toeing away from the issue…
An aide to retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood of Peoria suggested LaHood probably would not return phone calls because the Ryan-Durbin dust-up isn’t a subject he wants to talk about.
Rock Island Democrat Phil Hare also didn’t want to get pulled into the matter.
“Congressman Hare believes that it is President Bush’s decision whether or not to commute Governor Ryan’s sentence and has no further comment,” spokesman Tim Schlittner noted in an e-mail message.
But you gotta figure that this issue will give Republicans an easy way to distance themselves from past GOP corruption. So, we can probably expect more statements of outrage.
* Here’s an interesting tidbit that I missed the other day, probably because it was buried at the very end of an article…
Durbin said he would not ask Obama to commute Ryan’s sentence if Bush doesn’t.
So, he won’t put his own guy on the hot seat?
* The Daily Herald quotes some folks who think the whole idea is a long shot at best…
Bush is an ardent death penalty supporter, having presided over more than 130 executions during his tenure as Texas governor.
It’s among the myriad reasons observers and experts doubt the effort to free Ryan will be successful, pointing to Bush’s general reluctance so far to use his clemency powers and a lack of political angles that would seem to make Ryan fit as an exception.
“I think it’s a long shot for a couple reasons,” said Dan Kobil, a law professor at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, who studies executive clemency. “One, he hasn’t served that much of his sentence.
“He doesn’t have the personal or the political connection with Bush that Scooter Libby had.” […]
“I don’t think Bush is going to do it because I simply don’t think he’ll want to do it. What’s in it for him?” said [Paul Green], director of Roosevelt University’s School of Policy Studies. “If there’s no political motive, it’s tough to figure out what Bush would do. There’s no, in my thinking, logic to any of this.”
* And Phil Kadner is on a roll…
Federal sentences are truer, but even when the evidence is overwhelming, as in the case of former Gov. George Ryan, judges are reluctant to hit elected officials with a maximum sentence. That’s why Ryan got a 6 1 / 2 - year term instead of the 10 years sought by federal prosecutors.
In the eyes of judges and lawmakers, corrupt government officials aren’t as bad as street criminals who rape, beat and murder people.
I contend their crimes are far worse. The damage they inflict on society is more widespread and longer lasting than any harm done by a violent criminal.
Indeed, if all the victims at a public corruption trial were allowed to testify at sentencing the line would stretch from Springfield to Chicago.
* Speaking of presidential mercy…
A West Side alderman is urging President Bush to pardon Larry Bloom, the City Council’s self-proclaimed “Mr. Clean” who got down in the mud with an undercover FBI mole.
Bloom, a former 5th Ward alderman, pleaded guilty in 1998 to a single felony tax charge stemming from the Operation Silver Shovel corruption probe. He served six months at the federal prison camp in Oxford, Wis., before being released on Nov. 1, 1999.
Now Ald. Ed Smith (28th) is urging President Bush to “expunge” Bloom’s conviction with a pardon.
“He committed a crime. He paid his dues. He got brought down. But he has the ability and the heart to be very productive and really help people. Why not let him do that?” Smith said.
* Related…
* For Sen. Durbin, triumph and tragedy - A senator at the top of his career. A father at the depths of his grief. A man at a crossroads.
* Should Ryan serve less time than Scott Fawell?
* Republican congressmen oppose Ryan release
* Colleague Wants Pardon For Former Ald. Bloom
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:13 am
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Not only should we remember Bushie’s love of the death penalty, but lest us not forget Phil Grams and assault wapon ban
Comment by Ryan Flyin Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:30 am
I think too many people are confused between Commuting his sentence and a Pardon. You cannot compare Fawell with George. Fawell did the dirty work, he is young and has a long life in front of him. Ryan’s sentence could be “LIFE”. He is not a threat to society, so I say Comute it, and maybe he will just go away.
Comment by He Makes Ryan Look Like a Saint Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:32 am
Kadner writes: ===I contend their [corrupt officials] crimes are far worse. The damage they inflict on society is more widespread and longer lasting than any harm done by a violent criminal.===
Unless, of course, you are murdered. Then the damage is really long lasting.
===Indeed, if all the victims at a public corruption trial were allowed to testify at sentencing the line would stretch from Springfield to Chicago.===
And southern Illinois is forgotten again.
Comment by Fan of the Game Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:40 am
===The damage they inflict on society is more widespread and longer lasting than any harm done by a violent criminal.===
Even if you believe Kadner that we are all victims and we have all suffered damages I can’t believe someone would make a statement like that. I would gladly be ripped off by every politician daily if it meant a woman wouldn’t have been raped or if even one of the hundreds of those murdered annually could come back to life.
He may think he is sticking up for society but I wouldn’t want to live in a society where violent crime is not considered the worst thing that could happen to someone.
Every once in awhile I get lured back into reading his column but nutty ideas like this remind me to stay away.
Comment by Been There Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:42 am
==Durbin said he would not ask Obama to commute Ryan’s sentence if Bush doesn’t.==
There you have it.
Senator Durbin is playing politics where it doesn’t belong. If Ryan’s clemency isn’t worth the risk to a President Obama, then it shouldn’t be a risk to any president.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:50 am
I don’t wear a tinfoil hat, but does the placement of the Durbin grief story in the Tribune seem ill-timed to anyone but me? Sure, he’s experienced loss that would shake anyone’s soul, but c’mon.
Comment by tubbfan Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:53 am
======Durbin said he would not ask Obama to commute Ryan’s sentence if Bush doesn’t.======
Says it all. There is definitely no travesty of justice present if Durbin can’t be bothered to send a letter twice.
Comment by South Side Mike Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 10:57 am
===Every once in awhile I get lured back into reading his column but nutty ideas like this remind me to stay away.===
Kadner is over the top most of the time. The rest of the time he doesn’t make any sense. Time to take that early buyout, Phil, before they just close the place up and fire you.
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:00 am
===So, he won’t put his own guy on the hot seat?===
Because the letter and his opinion has been put out there. No need to duplicate. Durbin carries no weight in the White House, no matter who’s there, so there’s no pressure to apply.
Throw your TF hats (and this issue) away…jeesh.
Comment by BandCamp Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:05 am
Last night there was a forum on torture at DePaul Law School with speakers from the Center for Constitutional Rights and the People’s Law Office. It was sponsored by the National Lawyers Guild.
One speaker claimed there are 25 Black men incarcerated in Illinois based on confessions obtained by torture.
It sorta seems that if Gov. Blagojevich is feeling charitable this Christmas season he could commute the sentences of most or all of these men who are probably innocent of the crimes they have been convicted for.
While it may suck the Lura Lynn Ryan is suffering, the innocent men doing time in Illinois prisons also have families who are suffering.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:06 am
==In the eyes of judges and lawmakers, corrupt government officials aren’t as bad as street criminals who rape, beat and murder people.
I contend their crimes are far worse. The damage they inflict on society is more widespread and longer lasting than any harm done by a violent criminal.==
This was a very ignorant thing to write. We often see violent crimes impact government and social policies, rewriting laws and creating new ones. We often see violent crimes divide communities, raise taxes, and forever cast suspicion. There are no acts caused by government corruption that overwhelm societies more than acts caused by violent crimes. In the worse-case scenarios, government corruption cannot exceed the impact made by the Oklahoma City Bomber, 9/11, Son of Sam, or OJ Simpson’s trial.
Kadner’s statement is over emotional, poorly thought out and insulting to those of us touched everyday by the impact of violent crimes.
Comment by VanillaMan Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:06 am
As far as the commutation is concerned, it is “traditional” for the out-going incumbent to issue a bunch of pardons and commutations on his way out the door. Look at the pardons and commutations Bush has already done. Many are a lot worse criminals than Ryan.I don’t ever remember an incoming president issuing any pardons so Obama really doesn’t have anything to do with it other than give the reactionaries another reason to crawl out from under their rocks.
Comment by Bill Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:06 am
Circus is right.
Durbin lost whatever credibility he had on the “redemption” issue when he said he wouldn’t put the ball in Obama’s court. Yeesh, he didn’t think this one through.
I still think this might be closer to a done deal than the university experts. There is absolutely nothing in it for Bush, just as there hasn’t been anyting in it for his other commutations or pardons, Libby aside. He likely will make some before Christmas because it’s tradition and it feels good to do so. Ryan could make the list.
The request for Bloom is laughable and pathetic. The guy spent years telling everyone how smart and pure he was, and how everybody else was mobbed-up and stupid. Then he got caught taking chump change from a stranger in a sting. Let it stand.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:12 am
Where did that Bloom thing come from anyway?
Comment by wordslinger Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:22 am
The idea that political corruption and street crime are in zero-sum competition is flawed.
Corruption and malfeasance in politics and law enforcement are intertwined.
Corrupt pols and corrupt people in law enforcement (cops and prosecutors) watch each others’ backs.
And if the cops are corrupt, you can expect street crime to be more frequent and more serious.
So, the rationalization that “I can live with my cousin/neighbor ripping off gov’t” because it’s not street crime is BS.
“Broken windows” policing showed that by decreasing graffiti, panhandling, street prostitution and other signs that the rules didn’t apply communities could decrease street crime. If the politicians follow the law and cops aren’t corrupt it has the same affect. Conversely, if cops are corrupt, it’s easier for people to rationalize street crime and looking the other way when their friends and relatives perpetrate street crime.
But rather than increasing sentences for corrupt politicians, we should put in place policies that make it less likely normal people elected to office will behave corruptly. We should increase transparency and decrease conflicts of interest.
Comment by Carl Nyberg Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 11:45 am
=I don’t wear a tinfoil hat, but does the placement of the Durbin grief story in the Tribune seem ill-timed to anyone but me? Sure, he’s experienced loss that would shake anyone’s soul, but c’mon.=
I don’t think the Trib story is ill timed and what do you mean by “c’mon”? I can’t imagine anything worse than to bury a child. It goes to Durbin’s reasoning with regard to Ryan. Throw stones at his decison on this but I truly belive that Durbin is trying to be compassionate PERIOD. Obvioulsy he is taking a stand on something he knows is overwhelmingly unpopular. I think this shows his true character…..I have the utmost admiration for Senator Durbin.
Comment by Oh my Bama Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 12:07 pm
We don’t have to ask the U.S. Attorney’s office what they think, because they already told us two years ago during the sentencing phase of George Ryan’s trial:
“It would create an unreasonable sentencing disparity if Ryan, an elected constitutional officer holding the highest office in the state, received a lesser sentence than the 78-month sentence imposed by this Court on his right-hand man, Scott Fawell, who typically acted at Ryan’s direction.”
- Chicago Sun-Times, 2006
Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 12:32 pm
======Durbin said he would not ask Obama to commute Ryan’s sentence if Bush doesn’t.======
This supports my conclusion that Durbin is trying to head off a pardon (as requested by Lura Lynn).
…And maybe Rep. Johnson is OK with clemency.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 12:58 pm
Responding to… “It would create an unreasonable sentencing disparity if Ryan, an elected constitutional officer holding the highest office in the state, received a lesser sentence than the 78-month sentence imposed by this Court on his right-hand man, Scott Fawell, who typically acted at Ryan’s direction.”??
What are you talking about? That would be the APPRORIATE thing for Fawell to serve longer, you believe he acted at Ryan’s request? How naive. He should serve double any sentence Ryan originally received.
Comment by John Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 1:36 pm
you believe he acted at Ryan’s request? How naive.
My irony meter just pegged.
Comment by Pat collins Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 1:43 pm
Public corruption is a serious and dangerous problem.Let’s hope that President Bush agrees.George Ryan was convicted of series crimes.George Ryan doesn’t deserve any special treatment.Equal protection under the law means we should strive to treat jailed,convicted felons equally.
Comment by Steve Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 1:50 pm
John, I don’t know what you’re drinking but it should be declared hazardous waste. George knew what Fawell was up to.
Comment by Leave a light on George Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 4:13 pm
The threads on this get shorter each day. Monday had two threads (78 & 44 comments), Tuesday (65 comments), today we are only at 22. Is this on its way to being a dead horse by the end of the week? Does Bush let George out this Friday or next? Or does he make Lura Lynn wait until Jan. 19? Who would notice?
Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Dec 3, 08 @ 4:38 pm