After a lengthy argumentative sentencing hearing, ex-Governor George Ryan has just been sentenced to six and 1/2 years in federal prison as a result of myriad corruption charges, the most notable of which was the bribes-for-licenses charge in which Ryan, as Secretary of State maintained a licensing system whereby non-qualified professional drivers were allowed to operate on Illinois roads, which resulted in the death of Wisconsin family.
The prosecutor, of course, has been Patrick Fitzgerald, the U.S. Attorney for the Chicago area, who is also the special prosecutor on the Libby perjury case. All stations in Chicago are covering this LIVE.
This is just a brief diary to update everyone. The sentencing guidelines had mandated 8-10 years, but the judge threw out some minor charges upon which there had been convictions, so the guidelines dropped to 6 at the minimum and the judge gave the minimum sentence. This also happens to be the precise length of time that aide Scott Fawell was sentenced to.
Ryan is 72 years old and there was a lot of testimony that he might die in prison and his wife is ill and needs care. Cynical court observers pointed out that everyone always gets really sick about the time of sentencing.
The only newsworthy aspect of Ryan's appearance was that, after years of showing no contrition whatsoever, he actually made a statement that was partially apologetic. It didn't address the charges for which he was convicted because he didn;t want to prejudice a possible appeal, so he only apologized to the Illinois citizenry for losing their confidence in his administration.
Corrupt Republicans do go down sometimes. This is good news, and, other than the appeals, closes the book on this horrific chapter of Republican governance.