From hero of the anti-death penalty movement to felon, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan dead at 91

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, who is heralded for halting death penalties in Illinois — but later served time on a corruption conviction — has died at the age of 91.

Ryan, who served on the Illinois General Assembly and as Illinois secretary of state, House speaker, lieutenant governor and ultimately governor, is best known for declaring a state moratorium on the death penalty in 2000 that eventually led to its abolition.

But he's also remembered for a federal corruption probe that netted him six years in federal prison in 2007, stemming from the illegal sale of commercial driver's licenses — actions that ultimately were linked to the 1994 deaths of six children belonging to Scott and Janet Willis. After five years in federal prison, Ryan served seven months of home confinement.

Born in Maquoketa, Iowa, Ryan went to school to be a pharmacist, and at one time owned a chain of family-run pharmacies. He served as chairman of the Kankakee County Board and served five terms in the Illinois House, and as speaker from 1981 to 1983. He served two terms as lieutenant governor and secretary of state before being elected governor in 1998.

Beyond his call for a death penalty moratorium in 2000, Ryan also focused on the prevention of drunk driving, and pushed Illinois to lower the blood alcohol level to 0.08 percent.

While he was in prison, his wife Lura Lynn was diagnosed with cancer and died. He was allowed to visit her, and was able to make it to her bedside before she died.

“It was horrible to lose her, but life goes on,” Ryan told Michael Sneed in 2018. “I adored her, and her ashes are on my fireplace mantle in Kankakee.”

Former Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin first met Ryan when he served as secretary of state. The two maintained a strong friendship, even after Ryan left prison. Durkin said Ryan spent his final years with his family in Kankakee, "reengaging with the people that he had grown up with and the people in his community."

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Durkin said the execution of convicted killer Andrew Kokoraleis in 1999 weighed heavily on Ryan's mind and helped to prompt the moratorium. Kokoraleis was put to death by lethal injection just hours after Ryan denied requests for clemency.

"He really struggled with it. And I know that because he told me, and also I talked to other people who were involved in talking to George about what he should do. But he did sign the warrant for execution, and it really troubled him so much afterward," Durkin said.

"And he took the position that he was going to commute the sentences of everybody on death row in Illinois," Durkin added. "And he just felt that it was such a burden upon him, and something that really troubled him. That the state shouldn't be in the business of being executioners. That life is precious, and we shouldn't be playing this role in society."

In his final years, Durkin said Ryan showed no "bitterness" to those involved with his case.

In 1994, the Willis family van, driven by Scott Willis, ran over a piece of steel that had fallen off a truck on Interstate 94 in Wisconsin. Their gas tank exploded, engulfing their van in flames, killing six Willis children. An investigation revealed the driver of the truck that dropped the piece of steel had received his license through a historically rigged testing system at the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, which Ryan once headed.

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"He did good things for the state. People are going to judge him based on what happened with the Willis family, and I'm not sure if it's fair, but he did his time. And he had no resentment nor bitterness to the people who were involved in the prosecution, nor towards anybody afterward," Durkin said. "So I think that really shows the character of George Ryan."

Brad Cole, CEO of the Illinois Municipal League, served as Ryan's deputy chief of staff. He said he wants people to know that Ryan was someone who helped others outside of the spotlight.

“Gov. Ryan was a very good friend of mine. He was also fundamentally a good man, and I wish more people knew that about him. He dedicated himself to helping people when others wouldn’t and did so quietly and out of the spotlight," Cole said. "I will always be grateful for our more than 25-year relationship and am comforted that he and Lura Lynn are now together once again.”

Gov. JB Pritzker also offered his condolences Friday in a social media post.

"Sending my deepest condolences to former Governor Ryan's family and loved ones," Pritzker said. "May his memory be a blessing."

This story is developing.