Former Gov. George Ryan should report to federal prison next week to start serving a 6 1/2-year sentence for corruption, federal prosecutors argued in a motion filed Tuesday.
Ryan’s lawyers have asked the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to extend Ryan’s bail so he can remain free while they try to persuade the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction.
But prosecutors said Tuesday that the nation’s highest court is “highly unlikely” to agree to hear the appeals of Ryan and his co-defendant, former lobbyist Lawrence Warner.
As a result, “it is time for defendants to begin serving their sentences,” wrote Assistant U.S. Atty. Stuart Fullerton.
Ryan was convicted in April 2006 on charges that as secretary of state and governor, he doled out sweetheart deals to Warner and other friends and used state resources and employees for political gain.
