Jury Selection Underway in Trial of Ex-Governor

Residents here say they want to believe that a hometown celebrity -- former Illinois Gov. George Homer Ryan -- is not a crook.

He was the third governor to come from this small, economically decaying Rust Belt downstate town. He fought for stricter gun-control rules and pushed to rebuild the state’s crumbling infrastructure. Before he left office, he shook up the national debate over capital punishment by placing a moratorium on executions in Illinois after learning several inmates had been wrongly convicted.

But since December 2003, when a federal grand jury indicted Ryan on 22 counts of racketeering conspiracy and other corruption charges, residents here and across Illinois have been left pondering some tough questions.

“Is he corrupt? Were we all fooled?” asked local pharmacist Michael Gray. “It’s so tough. You just don’t know what to believe.”

Answers may soon come, as jury selection began last week in Chicago for Ryan’s federal criminal corruption trial. Lawyers on both sides say the case is expected to take up to four months; opening arguments are expected to start sometime this week.

Regardless of the verdict, say legal watchers, the legacy of this 71-year-old Republican, a former pharmacist who spent three decades climbing through the political ranks -- and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in the process -- has been tainted.

Federal prosecutors have charged that from 1990 to 2002 -- when Ryan served as secretary of state and governor -- he and his family accepted at least $167,000 worth of gifts, vacations, cash and other bribes.

In exchange for the payoffs, prosecutors allege, the politician doled out millions of dollars worth of state business and lucrative contracts to friends and associates. Ryan allegedly gave associates insider information about impending deals and ignored state employees’ concerns about such matters.

Ryan also is accused of mail fraud, tax fraud, filing false tax returns and making false statements to agents investigating corruption in his administration.

The case is the latest chapter in a lengthy federal investigation of political corruption during Ryan’s time as secretary of state and governor, and ultimately led to the end of his political career.

Ryan has pleaded not guilty.

The investigation, which initially examined allegations of bribes paid for driver’s licenses, was sparked after an unqualified trucker was involved in an accident that killed six children. Dubbed Operation Safe Road, the investigation has led to 79 indictments and 73 convictions in the last seven years.

Chicago businessman Lawrence E. Warner, a lobbyist and friend of Ryan, is a co-defendant in the case. Warner is accused of using his political ties to coerce bribes from companies seeking contracts from the secretary of state’s office under Ryan.

When indicted by a federal grand jury in 2003, Ryan told reporters, “I have spent more than three decades in service to the people of Illinois. I have tried my best to be faithful to that service, and to earn the trust and support of the voters who elected me.... I would not dishonor that trust by the kind of conduct the government has alleged.” Last week, Ryan declined to comment on the case.

He sat calmly as defense attorneys and prosecutors grilled the pool of more than 300 potential jurors. The group had filled out a lengthy questionnaire to help thin out the pool and speed up the selection process.

In court and in the questionnaire, jurors were asked what media outlets they listened to or watched, whether they had relied on the help of public officials in the past, and what they thought of Ryan. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer told attorneys Wednesday they had to limit their questioning of each prospective juror to 30 minutes. Some of the questioning had stretched on for 45 minutes.

Family friends insist that Ryan, who has said he will testify during the trial, is eager for the chance to clear his name.

“I’m not saying he’s pure or naive,” said longtime friend Tony Leone. “But I am saying that, in the world of government that George came into, he didn’t believe he did anything wrong.”

Critics, however, insist that Ryan knew about the problems caused by corruption and has refused to take responsibility.

“He’s never apologized to the family,” said attorney Joseph Power Jr., the attorney who represented the parents of the six children killed in the highway crash. “He was never held accountable, and he needs to be.”

There is a long history of questionable conduct carried out from inside the Illinois governor’s mansion. Former Cook County Sheriff Richard Ogilvie, who was governor in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, faced constant accusations of turning a blind eye to corruption: While he was sheriff, one of his top aides was paid to serve occasionally as the personal driver of Chicago mob boss Sam Giancana.

Before Ryan, the last Illinois governor to stand trial was Otto Kerner Jr. In the 1970s, he was convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion, among other things, after being accused of giving the owner of a horse racetrack special treatment in exchange for profiting from buying and selling the track’s stock.

Like Kerner, Ryan is planning to testify in court, said defense attorney Dan K. Webb.

“It’s a risky move,” said Paul Green, a political scientist at Roosevelt University in Chicago. “With Gov. Kerner, the testimony was a turning point and helped convict him. He was articulate, he was intelligent. The general thought after was, ‘How can a guy be that smart and not know what’s going on?’ ”