Over the course of the past week, both Senator Dick Durbin, and embattled governor Rod Blagojevich have both floated the idea of a presidential pardon for ex-Governor/current inmate George Ryan.
The reasoning? Ryan is old and his wife’s health is failing. I’m sure all the non-politically connected inmates with similar life circumstances have all the sympathy in the world for Ryan.
John Kass takes it apart better than I could:
Ryan betrayed the people, who have a right to expect honest service from their government. His corruption also left a body count. Nine people, including the six Willis children, were killed in crashes with truck drivers who paid bribes for licenses when Ryan was Illinois secretary of state.
Dozens of others in his office went to prison before him, convicted of selling licenses for bribes, with much of the money going into Ryan’s campaign fund so he could be elected governor. And others were ruined.
And now his allies want to redeem him, though Ryan refuses to acknowledge his specific crimes? In what universe does redemption come without cost, where cynicism so casually dresses itself up as mercy and compassion?
Here. In this place. In Illinois.
Both Durbin and Blagojevich ought to be ashamed. Despicable.
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