Progress Illinois

The SouthtownStar is reporting that both Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Congresswoman-elect Debbie Halvorson have come out in opposition to the idea of granting clemency to imprisoned former Gov. George Ryan:

"I sympathize with Mrs. Ryan and regret the hardship this has caused the Ryan family," Jackson said in a statement. "However, I also recognize and respect the jury's verdict and the tragic loss it has caused the Willis family." [...]

"I have the utmost respect for Senator Durbin, and he is certainly free to express his opinion on this matter," Halvorson said in a statement. "However, I believe that just as George Ryan was treated as anyone else would be during sentencing, his situation should be addressed no differently than anyone else regarding early release, and I do not believe he should have his sentence commuted."

WBEZ has a round-up of statements from other public figures around Illinois.  And you can check out our readers' thoughts on the subject here.

President George W. Bush and President-elect Barack Obama both declined to weigh in on the issue, but our readers sure didn’t. As promised, here are a few of the most interesting responses from Tuesday’s query about whether former Gov. George Ryan should be granted clemency. Judging by our reader’s opinions, the 66 percent opposition garnered in the latest Rasmussen poll seems right on.

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Last Wednesday, after Sen. Dick Durbin said he was considering whether to ask President Bush to commute former Gov. George Ryan's prison sentence, we provided a round-up of editorial board opinion on the subject (which was unanimous in opposition to the idea).  In the week since, Gov. Blagojevich expressed his support for letting Ryan out of prison and Durbin yesterday sent a letter to the White House requesting the commutation.  Not surprisingly, this prompted outrage across numerous op-ed pages this morning.

Considering that passions are running high on this question, we're curious to hear what Progress Illinois readers think.  Please leave your thoughts on the issue in the comments section below or, if you prefer, email them to: contact (at) progressillinois (dot) com.  Later this week, we'll devote a post to the most interesting responses.

At a Springfield news conference on Tuesday, Dick Durbin said he believes that George Ryan “has paid a price for his wrongdoing.” With that in mind, the Illinois senator is mulling whether to support clemency for the imprisoned former governor, who has served 13 months of his 6-and-a-half-year sentence. Ryan’s lawyers officially submitted their clemency request yesterday.

The consensus on the op-ed pages this morning? An unrepentant Ryan doesn’t deserve any breaks.

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