CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
George Ryan has lost what was, essentially, his last chance to get early release from prison.
Former Gov. Ryan's been serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in a Terre Haute, Ind. federal prison. His officials release date is July 4, 2013, but he was hoping that new interpretations of the honest services fraud provisions might knock a few months off his sentence.
But his latest appeal was denied.
Ryan, 78, is likely to be released to a half-way house near the end of this year, where he'll stay until next July.
Among other things, Ryan was convicted in 2006 of steering state contracts and leases to political insiders while secretary of state and then as governor, receiving vacations and gifts in return.
His lawyers, including former governor Jim Thompson, had argued that he was essentially convicted for accepting gifts from friends, not real bribes. Thompson argued that under the latest Supreme Court rulings, there had to be bribery or kickbacks to sustain an honest services fraud.
But Monday's 16 page opinion by three justices of the court of appeals said that the jury did find that Ryan accepted bribes.
For example, the jury convicted Ryan on four tax counts for not reporting bribes as income. That shows there were bribes paid to Ryan, not just gifts, which would not have to be reported.
Calls made by FOX Chicago News to former Gov. Thompson haven't been returned yet. But the Tribune quote's him as saying he is "disappointed," and that there's no decision yet on whether to appeal this ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said former imprisoned Gov. George Ryan should serve out the rest of his sentence.
At an unrelated event, Quinn said that the court has spoken and Ryan had his day in court, saying Ryan has to "do the time."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
