G-Ry was notoriously thin skinned and much of that was shown in his shots at people in his own party during 2002. He also believed strongly in loyalty and the premium may have kept Scott Falwell close to him even after being convicted–thus creating the one person who could blow the whistle on him as a loyal soldier who falls on the sword. During the campaign he took shots at Kris Cohn and especially Jim Ryan for running away from him and in a bizarre twist, chastised Lisa Madigan for saying she would investigate her own father.
The Sun-Times does a profile of The George Ryan Years: Tales of Clout with a hysterical anecdote,
SPRINGFIELD–Being blunt about how scandal had ruined George Ryan’s political fortunes almost cost state Sen. Wendell Jones $1.7 million.
In early 2001, after the Palatine Republican told the Chicago Sun-Times it would be a "good thing" if Ryan didn’t seek re-election, the former governor retaliated in private by halting Illinois FIRST construction projects in Jones’ district for three months.
Realizing he had ruffled Ryan’s feathers, the senator asked for and was granted a special audience with him. In a memo to the governor about the meeting, a Ryan aide attached the news article and wrote that Jones would "apologize for comments he made regarding your re-election chances. Senator Jones says he regrets the comments and did not want to offend you with them."
After the apology, Jones now recalls, "all of a sudden, my projects began to move. That’s the way George Ryan was."
Of course, the next anecdote points out Skip Saviano’s close ties,
"Mr. Duffy and Mr. Anderson will both have fund-raising checks for you on Friday, but they will give them to Skip Saviano before the meeting so that Skip can give them to you at a more appropriate time," Ryan’s legislative liaison Kraig Lounsberry wrote. "The coroners would like to thank you."
Saviano was one of the people Tom Cross selected to run the funds for the Republican House Caucus once they ‘decentralized’ the money control from simply the House Republican Leader. He also is from River Forest and, um, has other ties, let’s say.
One of the favorite punching bags of this blog makes an appearance in the Illinois First program,
At the time, Ryan denied politics was behind an announcement touting $795,000 in Illinois FIRST projects obtained by former state Rep. Tim Johnson (R-Sydney), who was in a bitter primary for an open congressional seat.
However, an internal memo prepping Ryan for the event indicates otherwise, noting prominently that "one of Johnson’s opponents has raised Illinois FIRST as a campaign issue." The memo also encouraged the governor to pad Johnson’s pork tally by bringing up a previously announced $285,000 grant for a sewer plant "since it is one of the major projects sponsored by Representative Johnson," staffer Laurence Msall wrote.
Johnson went on to win the congressional seat.
Against one of the most decent human beings to run for a Congressional Seat in the general election–Mike Kelleher. From talking to people who have worked for Kelleher he is the kind of guy who would be Mr. Smith goes to Washington, much like Jim Leach of Iowa. Tim Johnson is, well, a moron and well, I’ll stop after the cheap shot the other day.
Overall, the story paints an accurate picture of one of the most egregious abusers of the political system in Illinois. There certainly are others who are happy to game the system, but Ryan took it to another level out of personal arrogance and sense of entitlement that no politician should possess.