Governor Questioned on Caretaker’s ‘Gift’
Gov. George Ryan said he gave $6,000 to his mother-in-law’s elderly caretaker as payment for her campaign work, but he could not remember exactly what work she performed or explain why his campaign reports listed the money as a gift.
Ryan said the money, given in late 1998, had nothing to do with Nancy J. Smith’s care for his late mother-in-law. That might be considered personal use of campaign money, and Ryan would have had to pay income taxes on it.
Ryan said Smith cared for Dorothea Helen Lowe, who died in July 2000, for nearly eight years. Lowe paid for that care, he said.
Efforts to reach Smith were unsuccessful.
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