AP via CBS2Chicago:

Apr 22, 2006 7:04 pm US/Central
Governor Who Served Time Talks About Ryan
(AP) CHICAGO Dan Walker, the only living former Illinois governor who
has served time in prison, says George Ryan's conviction this week on
corruption charges brought back memories of his own experience behind
bars.
In prison, Walker scrubbed toilets and picked up cigarette butts,
using a wooden rod that had the words "Governor's Stick" burnt into
it.
He was also threatened by fellow inmates and forced to stand outside
in the cold while waiting for meals, but Walker said the most
humiliating part of the ordeal was being subjected to random searches
where prison guards would bark out "strip, squat and spread."
Walker, 83, served 17 months in a minimum security prison after
pleading guilty in 1987 to bank fraud, perjury and other charges
related to his ownership of a suburban Chicago bank. None of the
crimes were linked to his term as governor, which he served from 1973
to 1977.
"Having been there -- I repeat, having been there -- I do not wish
jail for any person," Walker told the Chicago Sun-Times in a phone
interview from his home near San Diego. "I really feel sorry for
George and his family. ... I wish no man to have that and no man to
have that disgrace that I had."
Ryan, 72, and longtime friend Larry Warner, 67, were convicted on
Monday of racketeering conspiracy, mail fraud and other offenses. The
indictment said Ryan steered state leases and contracts to political
friends and was rewarded with gifts ranging from expense-paid
vacations in Jamaica to a free golf bag.
Although his attorneys have vowed to appeal the conviction, Ryan's
sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 4. He faces a maximum of 20
years in prison on just one count alone, but most likely he will get
much less time.
Walker, who served his sentence at a prison in Duluth, Minn., didn't
have any advice for Ryan because that would be "very presumptuous,"
but said the loss of freedom experienced in prison is significant.
"It will hit him hard, no question about it," Walker said.