I know all of you have your own fair share of corrupt politicians, and Illinois and Chicago are right up there at the top of the national list of corrupt regimes...er...parties, but the guilty on all counts decision of former Illinois Governor George Ryan is BIG NEWS around here.
Read that paragraph above very carefully....yes, THREE OF THE LAST SIX Illinois Governors have been convicted!
You can read the entire article from Time Magazine.The Governor Goes Down
Once nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, George Ryan of Illinois now stands convicted of corruption while in office. How will it play at the polls?
By ERIC FERKENHOFF/CHICAGO
Posted Monday, Apr. 17, 2006
The state of Illinois, not to mention the city of Chicago, has a long-earned reputation for corruption, and it just got worse.
On Monday, former Governor George Ryan, 72, became the third of the state's last six governors to be convicted of political misdeeds, and the current administration of Democrat Rod Blagojevich is also being investigated. Ryan, who won worldwide acclaim and even a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for clearing out the state’s Death Row and putting a moratorium on executions, was found guilty of running campaigns — and government offices — like a personal piggy bank to enrich himself, family and friends. The verdict, convicting Ryan on 18 counts ranging from racketeering to mail fraud, came after five months of testimony from more than 100 witnesses, including Ryan's previously convicted former chief of staff, some 20 hours of closing arguments and nearly a month of jury deliberations.
Read that paragraph above very carefully....yes, THREE OF THE LAST SIX Illinois Governors have been convicted!