Gov. Ryan Stays Put .. For Now

The former Illinois Gov. will have to wait to plead his case for an early release.

By Ally Clark

| Thursday, Sep 9, 2010 | Updated 12:30 PM CDT

Scott Olson

"Oh my goodness," former Gov. George Ryan's wife, Lura Lynn, said upon hearing news of Sen. Dick Durbin's plea to President George Bush to commute the governor's sentence. "God bless his heart."

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Former governor George Ryan won't be leaving jail until at least November --- if he does at all.

A federal judge granted prosecutors a continuance so they could plan to argue against a motion filed by the jailed Governor seeking early release from prison based on a Supreme Court decision.

The judge postponed the hearing until November 1, to allow prosecution more time to prepare arguments against the motion.

In April 2006, Ryan was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in prison on several charges that include racketeering, mail fraud and filing false tax returns. He is currently serving his time in Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution.

Ryan's defense attorneys Dan Webb and former governor James Thompson say parts of the conviction against Republican George Ryan should be thrown out because of a Supreme Court decision in the case of former Enron CEO Jeffrey Skilling that essentially shot down the Honest Services statute, the Daily Herald reports.

They say Ryan's verdict was based on conduct the Supreme Court found not to be criminal in the Skilling case and some of the former governor's sentence should be deemed "unlawful". The Supreme Court ruling also helped former Hollinger International, Inc. Chairman Conrad Black's case.