Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who went to prison for corruption, dies at age 91

Embattled former Illinois Gov. George Ryan has died at age 91.

Ryan, who served as Illinois' governor from 1999 to 2003, passed away Friday morning after spending the last few days in hospice care, according to former Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin, a close friend of Ryan's.

No cause of death was immediately given.

Ryan served in state government for 40 years and, prior to his time as governor, was Illinois' Secretary of State and Lieutenant Governor.

He also spent nearly six years in prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

Ryan was convicted in a case spurred by the 1994 highway crash that killed six children of Scott and Janet Willis. The truck driver who caused the accident had received a license through a bribe from a staffer in Ryan's office when he was Secretary of State.

He was convicted on federal corruption charges in 2006, having been accused of racketeering, conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Ryan was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $603,348.

In 2014, Ryan told the Chicago Sun-Times he prays for the Willis children daily but feels no responsibility for their deaths.

As governor, Ryan became the first sitting U.S. governor to visit Cuba. But more famously, he lifted the death penalty in Illinois and commuted sentences for hundreds of inmates on death row.

During an interview three years ago with NBC Chicago, former governor Ryan talked about his legacy on the death penalty, which included placing a moratorium on capital punishment in Illinois and later pardoning four death row inmates and commuting the death sentences of 167 others – the largest commutation of its kind in U.S. history.

“If you are going to have a law that takes someone else’s life, you better have one that’s perfect. And that’s impossible,” Ryan said at the time.

He says the start of his prison term was rocky because "some of the guards were angry" over his death penalty decision.

"They made things a little rough, but you deal with it," he noted, recalling that he met "some real bums" but also "some real decent people" during his stint.

During his time behind bars, his wife of 55 years, Lura Lynn Ryan, passed away after a long bout with cancer.

In July 2013, at age 79, Ryan was released from federal custody and ultimately returned to his Kankakee home.

 "I feel wonderful. I'm glad to be home," Ryan said at the time. "There's no place like home, especially in America and freedom's a great thing. I'm glad I've got mine back."

During a 2015 talk, Ryan said serving time on corruption charges gave him a new perspective on the criminal justice system.

“Justice is supposed to be blind, but the fact is most people are blind about the justice system,” Ryan said. “Those of us who have been there and are coming out of prison wondering what is going on. There are people concerned about what is going to happen to us, but I am not sure they care that much.”

While speaking at the Coalition to Reduce Recidivism’s luncheon that year, Ryan said he wanted to remove the stigma attached to those who have served their debt to society. He delivered a speech focused on his successful efforts to eliminate the death penalty in Illinois.

“They did the smartest thing they could, they abolished it,” Ryan said. “It was so broken. It needed to be repaired, fixed, and we couldn’t do that. So if you can’t fix a system that is going to take somebody’s life, make it the best system you can, then you probably shouldn’t have a law like that. And that’s what Illinois decided and Illinois abolished it.”

When asked about whether he thought his conviction for a corruption scandal may taint his legacy, Durkin admitted "it will with some people."

"But if you really get to research and look into George Ryan, you'll find that it did more good for the state of Illinois than people give him credit for him, and that's why I said that. He is an old school guy, but he figured out ways to get through a budget with some pretty tough characters,” Durkin said. “Let's look at the good things that people do after they have passed in death. That's the way I think people should look at George Ryan, that he accomplished a lot in his life, but he's a man that is a human being that made mistake, but he also he did his time, and he came out and a better person and worked on a lot of things that were important, particularly within the criminal justice system, something that was near and dear to his heart.”

Hedy Ratner with the Women’s Business Development Center described herself as a left-leaning Democrat who had heaps of praise for Ryan.

“I'm just hoping that the issues around his indictment and his incarceration are not what will dominate in the memories of I feel a very great man and a wonderful government who care deeply about his people in the state of Illinois and about those who did not have opportunities,” Ratner told NBC 5 Investigates’ Bennett Haeberle during an interview Friday.

Even before he was elected governor, Ryan was a powerful politician who, although a Republican, was comfortable working both sides of the aisle.

"Of all the politicians over the last 60 years, he had friends everywhere," said political consultant Thom Serafin.

Durkin told NBC Chicago that the former governor “was interested in finding ways to get things done."

"He was the person that could bridge the gap between Republicans and Democrats in the legislature to get major policy decisions done, he would bridge the gap between labor and management to resolve their differences," he said. "There's not a lot of that that happens like that anymore.”

Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran called Ryan a "bold leader who wasn't afraid to reach across the aisle and bring people together for the greater good."

"His investments in infrastructure, technology, and education to help create a brighter future for Illinois will long be remembered. I am thinking of his family and those who loved him, and wishing them strength and peace as they say goodbye," Curran said in a statement.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he was "sending my deepest condolences to former Governor Ryan's family and loved ones."

"May his memory be a blessing," Pritzker wrote.