Former Gov. George Ryan's Wife Pleads With Bush For Clemency

As part of the battle to secure clemency for her husband, the wife of former Gov. George Ryan penned a short note to President George W. Bush that U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood hand-delivered to a presidential aide.

In the note, Lura Lynn Ryan said, she reminded the president of the long friendship between their two families and spoke of her husband's efforts to help both the president and his father win election to the White House. She also told the president that she is ill and could use her husband's support at home.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[jsgaetano]

Ryan and other corrupt Goopers should get the chair, not pardons.

[kareemachan]

I'm sorry, I feel for his wife, but she needs to hire a nurse or health aide if her health is that bad. I just can't see where her situation merits him getting a pardon.

[VOTER]

Seeking Justice: NO PARDON FOR GEORGE RYAN!

[fusionfan]

Well, I never understood why Ryan was being blamed for the Willis family death. The accident was not caused by bad driving, but by a piece of equipment falling off of the truck that the driver was in, which then damaged the Willis family van gas tank, causing the accident. Maybe a licensed driver would have noticed this piece of junk ready to come off his truck, but I think it is unlikely. The link of culpability to Ryan is tentative.

See comments by Eric Zorn of the Tribune on this issue here:

http://blogs.chicagotribune.com/news_columnists_ezorn/2007/11/ryan-just-a-lin.html

My opinion is to commute the sentence of Gov. Ryan to time served. As politicians go, his "crimes" are minor.

FF

[LazarusLong]

Truck drivers are responsible for their cargo. If the driver had been properly trained and licensed, he would have known this and taken steps to properly secure the load.

The death of the six children is the direct result of an unqualified individual being given permission to operate a piece of equipment that they weren't qualified or trained to operate.

That "permission" was due to Ryan's actions.

[littlepuffycloud]

"But for" the equipment falling off the truck, the accident would never have happened. Stop blaming the victims.

[Dunworkin]

Yes the whole pardon thing should be scraped and only the pardon board should have the power to to pardon. The idea of a defunked president letting someone off the hook regardless of reason is asinine,once you have been convicted you should do the time handed down or face the parole board.

[BSERIUS]

For full Ryan atrocities read John Kass in the Tribune

[naschkatze]

No thanks. I have no opinion on Ryan's pardon, but if you are speaking about atrocities, John Kass is one walking atrocity if there ever was one. He outshines FOX in throwing innuendos like grenades and guilt by association. He belongs on FOX actually, and if the Tribune goes belly-up, I recommend him.

[BSERIUS]

No matter what Blago did ,,, No matter how deep he and Rahm are , no matter how much he tried to extort .... As a conservative who votes more Republican ( I did vote for Dem Lipinski ) If given the choice ... Blago stays governor or even apppoints himself senator but Ryan by his actions caused the horrific deaths of 6 children that we know of with no emorse and only arrogance..Pardon the border patrol agents but NO PARDON FOR RYAN

[moAb]

Six (6) tombstones courtesy of former Governor Ryan.

[conniec]

Aw, c'mon...if Ryan gets to go home, who will Blago pal around with when he gets convicted?

Is it just me, or is it odd that the Ryans speak with one another by phone, EVERY DAY? I didn't know prisoners got phone privileges that often...

[CDMelty]

Nah, in federal prison they get to buy phone cards and call whoever they want as often as they want. They have tons of rights. Federal prison is like a country club. It's ridiculous.

[Syncoptic1]

Boohoo. You're tugging on my heart strings. Let's limit the power of pardon to 2 per term. Enough with all these clowns doing whatever they want, relying on their criminal buddies to excuse them of their atrocities when the **** hits the fan. The rest of us have to ABIDE by the law, or go to prison. As a matter of fact, why should ANY of us follow ANY of these laws when they don't? Screw locking 'em up, let's torture them, considering the exiting administration has deemed that acceptable.

[CDMelty]

Truckers drive the most dangerous vehicles on the road, at all hours and in all weather, and they're paid by the mile not the hour. Ryan sold trucking licenses to drivers who couldn't even pass the basic test at the DMV. My husband drives truck so I know a little about how the vehicles move and I do NOT want an unqualified person driving in ice and snow with 48,000 pounds pushing them. I also don't want an unqualified person in charge of securing that 48,000 pounds to the truck in the first place. Who wants to be on their way to work when that steel coil breaks free and rolls off the flatbed? Ryan literally put the lives of millions in jeopardy and should not be pardoned for it. All Blago did was try to sell a senate seat. Sure it's bad, and he should be punished for it, but the odds that the senate seat is going to jack-knife and kill my kids in their school bus is pretty slim.

[BannedInBoston]

Prediction -- Bush will blow Mrs. Ryan off. He'll think, what has this guy done for me lately? And his answer will be, nada. Clemency, Clemenceau....

[adamfox]

The pardon would then be a payback for political gain. Is that Justice? This whole pardon thing should be scrapped. And, see that the IL gov. has issued 22 pardons since his troubles began. He's bought their silence. Bush will do the same.