Gov. Ryan dies

KANKAKEE – George Ryan and his longtime hometown of Kankakee were nearly inseparable and most could not think of one without thinking of the other.

On a bright sunny Friday morning, the former one-term Illinois Republican governor died inside his South Greenwood Avenue brick home in Kankakee just before noon, his son, George “Homer” Ryan Jr. confirmed to The Daily Journal.

Ryan died at the age of 91.

Ryan, who was born in Maquoketa, Iowa, had been ailing for a considerable time and had only recently returned to Kankakee, his son said. Ryan was surrounded by his family, Homer Ryan said.

Ryan was elected as the state’s 39th governor and served from 1999 to 2003.

It was the start of a skyrocketing profile in which he gained international attention for his effort to abolish the death penalty, normalize relations with the neighboring communist-control Cuba, strengthening drunk driving laws and organ donations programs.

Ryan’s 35-year political career began as a member of the Kankakee County Board in 1968, where he later became board chairman.

In 1973, he was elected to represent Kankakee in the Illinois House of Representatives. He served 10 year in the House, including six years as the Speaker of the House.

In 1983, Ryan joined his good friend, Gov. Jim Thompson, of Chicago, and was elected lieutenant governor, a post he held for eight years.

In 1990, he was elected Illinois Secretary of State, an office he held for two terms, before being elected governor in 1997.

Ryan, of course, had his detractors and went through a deep federal investigation and ultimately a seven-month trial in a Chicago federal court which led to his conviction on numerous felony charges stemming from the so-called “license for bribes” scandal and then into his role in the “Ryan’s law” scheme.

He was sentenced in September 2006.

The scheme, prosecutors said, allowed he and others to profit from bribing Illinois transportation officials to expedite the issuance of driver’s licenses and motor vehicle registrations to those with convictions.

The 18-count conviction for racketeering, fraud and other charges led to a six-and-a-half-year sentence, of which he served five years, upon his Jan. 30, 2013, release from federal prison.

It was in 2000 when Ryan placed a moratorium on executions in Illinois. In 2003, he received national attention for commuting more than 160 death sentences.

It was in 2002 when Ryan, standing outside of the north entrance to the Kankakee County Courthouse, announced to the hometown audience, who had packed the courthouse property, that his political career had drawn to a close and he would not seek a second term as governor.

The Ryan family moved to Illinois when George was about 5. The family briefly lived in Chicago before settling in Kankakee when they opened a family-owned pharmacy.

George Ryan graduated from Kankakee High School and he was then drafted into the U.S. Army in 1954. He served a 13-month tour in Korea, working in an army base pharmacy.

After discharge and after attending then-Ferris State College of Pharmacy, he returned to Kankakee when he and family, including his brother, Tom; sister, Katie; and her husband, Duane Deann, built his father’s pair of pharmacies into a successful chain of stores.

Ryan and his wife, Lura Lynn Lowe, married in June 1956 and raised a family of five daughters and one son. Lura Lynn died on June 27, 2011.