Time for Gov. Ryan to do the right thing
Daily Herald Reports
Posted on April 07, 2002

The license for bribes scandal that erupted in the Illinois secretary of state's office lingers on. There has been one shocking headline after another as each new indictment is announced by the U.S. attorney's office. The public, enraged by the scandal and whose faith in honest government has been shaken, wants answers.

But few answers are coming, at least not from the very top.

Instead of being forthcoming, Gov. George Ryan snaps at anyone who dares to ask him about the role he may have had in a scandal that has now linked itself to his close chain of command. Charges of racketeering, mail fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice have been brought against Ryan's gubernatorial campaign manager Scott Fawell, who also was Ryan's chief of staff when Ryan was secretary of state. It is that office that is the source of the scandal being investigated by the federal government.

Despite the close proximity of this investigation, Ryan doesn't believe it is anybody's business to be curious whether he committed any crime. Asked by the Associated Press to comment on whether he had done anything illegal, Ryan replied:

"They'll have to wonder."

And:

"I'm not going to talk about anything I've done or haven't done."

The public is entitled to more clarity than this, even if the governor doesn't believe so. And if he doesn't provide it, it would be only natural that the public would interpret such evasiveness as a sign that he did, indeed, do something wrong.

So here we are, with a governor giving everyone reason to suspect he is a felon.

"They'll have to wonder."

Well, we wonder if it isn't time for Gov. George Ryan to do one of two things: Fully explain. Or quit.

The man in the governor's mansion has been shriveled into insignificance by the scandal that surrounds him. It has crippled his ability to lead.

Ryan is a lame duck waddling about in a pool of corruption that may or may not be of his own making. This, at a time when the state needs strong leadership in the midst of a serious fiscal crisis. How effective can he be as legislators of his own party distance themselves from him and legislators on the other side of the aisle cheer every new indictment?

Even George Ryan must recognize this: At the very least, he failed to properly manage the secretary of states office and his own campaign organization.

That is a dismal description of his performance, but sadly, that would be the best you could say about it, not the worst. He owed the public more then. And he definitely owes the public more now.

The time has come for Gov. Ryan to do the right thing. And the right thing is to rethink his refusal to disclose his role in this scandal, to explain and to lay out all the facts. In doing so, he should open whatever records are pertinent.

And if not, he should step down.

If there weren't just a few months left in his administration, we might ask for a state legislative investigation to determine the existence of cause for possible impeachment. Unfortunately, this could wind up being a lengthy spectacle that would only serve to further embarrass the state and deeply divide the politicians who govern us. But certainly leaders of his party must see the damage.

We would hope they would recognize the need to press the governor for action - disclosure or closure. It's one or the other. The people of Illinois deserve no less.