Jim Ryan for Rod Blagojevich in 2010!
Dec. 1st, 2009 06:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_archfiendI haven't had much of anything nice to say about DuPage County GOP heavyweight (and perennial gubernatorial candidate) JIm Ryan ever since his role in the railroading of Rolando Cruz over the Jeanine Nicarico case became known, and his already tainted track record as DuPage County State's Attorney got even less appealing following testimony by Ryan's longtime pal Stuart Levine during the trial of ex-Governor Scummy's longtime pal Tony Rezko:
But there's more that could prove to be troubling for Ryan's bid for governor. Two investment firms whose managers collectively gave more than $70,000 to Ryan's failed 2002 gubernatorial campaign subsequently got multimillion-dollar government pension deals, state records and transcripts of Levine's testimony at Rezko's trial show. Levine testified he helped the firms win those deals, which were approved by a state board on which Levine sat within 30 days of the contributions to Ryan's campaign fund.
You can read the rest of this at the above link, but it's worth noting that a Ryan spokescritter has done the predictable pee-pee dance around the substance of the charges, as usual:
Jim Ryan spokesman Dan Curry says Ryan has no reason to think the contributions he got from Walton Street Capital and the John Buck Co. are in any way tainted and doesn't plan to return them.
"Throughout his career, Jim Ryan's integrity and the integrity of the law enforcement offices and campaigns he ran have been above reproach," Curry says. "He had no connection whatsoever to the secret crimes committed by Stuart Levine.
But there's more that could prove to be troubling for Ryan's bid for governor. Two investment firms whose managers collectively gave more than $70,000 to Ryan's failed 2002 gubernatorial campaign subsequently got multimillion-dollar government pension deals, state records and transcripts of Levine's testimony at Rezko's trial show. Levine testified he helped the firms win those deals, which were approved by a state board on which Levine sat within 30 days of the contributions to Ryan's campaign fund.
You can read the rest of this at the above link, but it's worth noting that a Ryan spokescritter has done the predictable pee-pee dance around the substance of the charges, as usual:
Jim Ryan spokesman Dan Curry says Ryan has no reason to think the contributions he got from Walton Street Capital and the John Buck Co. are in any way tainted and doesn't plan to return them.
"Throughout his career, Jim Ryan's integrity and the integrity of the law enforcement offices and campaigns he ran have been above reproach," Curry says. "He had no connection whatsoever to the secret crimes committed by Stuart Levine.
"At the time Jim Ryan knew him, Stuart Levine was a respectable citizen in the eyes of everyone, including the news media. Jim Ryan closed his previous campaign fund years ago and has no intention of refunding any money that was long ago spent and honorably collected."
Yeah. Sure. Keep in mind that this was a politician from Illinois that decided that Levine (who hosted some of those drug shindigs at a Lincolnwood hotel Chicago SF fans know all too well) was "respectable".
