GEORGE RYAN:  KEEP ON SERVING

by Adam Andrzejewski

George Ryan should serve out his entire prison sentence.

In 1976 and 1978, my father- John Andrzejewski- ran against the incumbent George Ryan for a seat in the Illinois House of Representatives. In that race, thirty years ago, my father published hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil monkeys in his print ads. George Ryan’s career of public service was never based on personal sacrifice.

Since childhood and for all of my adult life, I watched as George Ryan continued on his path to power: becoming Speaker of the House (1979), Lt. Governor (1983), Secretary of State (1991), and Governor of Illinois (1999). In the 22 count federal indictment, public corruption was proven to be systemic within Ryan’s offices as Secretary of State and Governor. George Ryan used public money for personal gain.
 
Public corruption is a betrayal of the public’s sacred trust and erodes public confidence. Unchecked, it threatens our government and our way of life by undermining the strength of our democracy. Public corruption should be our top criminal investigative priority.
 
In Illinois right now, good government is bought forward by virtue of the federal court system. A Presidential commutation of George Ryan’s prison term would effectively end our current means of good government. No accountability or responsibility to bring public officials to justice would exist in our system.

Illinois is the only state in America where concurrent federal investigations are ongoing at the city, county and state levels of government. Furthermore, local and state prosecutors have demonstrated a severe lack of will to fight public corruption. Therefore, the last place that a federal corruption commutation should occur is in Illinois.