Jump to content

Jim Ryan (politician)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Rebeccapinecone (talk | contribs) at 21:26, 13 June 2022 (family statement on his passing). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This article is about the former Illinois attorney general. For the Kansas congressman, see Jim Ryun.

Jim Ryan
40th Attorney General of Illinois
In office
January 9, 1995 – January 13, 2003
GovernorJim Edgar
George Ryan
Preceded byRoland Burris
Succeeded byLisa Madigan
State's Attorney of DuPage County
In office
1984 – January 9, 1995
Preceded byJoseph Fitzsimmons
Succeeded byAnthony Peccarelli
Personal details
Born(1946-02-21)February 21, 1946
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedJune 12, 2022(2022-06-12) (aged 76)
Elmhurst, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseMarie
Children6
EducationBenedictine University (BA)
Illinois Institute of Technology (JD)

“Ryan endured the death of two of his six children, nearly lost his beloved wife of 54 years to a heart attack, beat back cancer three times, and successfully recovered from heart surgery. Because he was a public figure, most of this pain was shouldered in the public eye, and his grace under duress was an inspiration to thousands of Illinoisans, many of whom he stayed in touch with over the years. Journalists sometimes compared him to the Biblical figure of Job.”

Statement from the family of Jim Ryan, June 12, 2022, 9:00 p.m.[1]

James E. Ryan[2] (February 21, 1946 – June 12, 2022) was an American lawyer and politician who served two four-year terms as Illinois Attorney General. A career Republican, he received his party's nomination and ran unsuccessfully for Governor of Illinois against Rod Blagojevich in 2002. Afterward, he became a professor at Benedictine University.[2]

Ryan again ran for governor in 2010 and led incumbent Governor Pat Quinn in aggregate polling, but he failed to gain his party's nomination, coming in fourth in a field of seven candidates.[3]

Education

Ryan was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburb of Villa Park, Illinois.[4] His father, Edward Ryan, was a construction worker while his mother was an Italian immigrant housewife.[4] He attended a Benedictine-run high school, Saint Procopius Academy (now Benet Academy).[4] Upon graduating, Ryan went on to study at Saint Procopius College (now Benedictine University), where he obtained his bachelor of arts degree in political science in 1968. He then went on to Chicago-Kent College of Law where he obtained his J.D. in 1971.[4]

Career

Ryan entered the legal profession having found a position with the DuPage County State's Attorney office.[4] After three years, he was promoted to first Assistant State's Attorney.[4] In 1976, Ryan left the public sector to enter private practice. He worked at an independent law firm until 1984.[4]

DuPage County State's Attorney

Ryan sought the Republican nomination for state’s attorney in 1976 but was defeated by J. Michael Fitzsimons. After eight years in private practice, Ryan challenged Fitzsimmons for the GOP nomination. Ryan criticized Fitzsimmons’s handling of several high-profile cases and went on to win the primary by approximately 10,300 votes. He was subsequently elected, and re-elected in 1984, 1988, and 1992. During his time as state’s attorney, he was elected President of the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Association.

Illinois Attorney General

Considered by local media as the most successful prosecutor in the state of Illinois, Ryan was urged to run for the state's highest legal office. In 1994, Ryan won an election to become Illinois Attorney General.[4] He was reelected in 1998 with the endorsement of every major newspaper in the state. Ryan's most notable accomplishment as Illinois Attorney General was his $9.1 billion settlement from tobacco companies. It was the largest public judgment in the state's history.

2002 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2002 Illinois gubernatorial election

In 2002, Ryan was the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois, defeating two other candidates for the Republican nomination. However, as an incumbent member of the state government, his campaign was negatively affected by scandals engulfing the administration of outgoing Governor George Ryan (no relation).[4] There was concern that the two men's similar names would also lead to confusion and further association between the two, so, according to The Chicago Tribune, Jim Ryan's campaign sent "a missive to newspaper editors urging them to use 'initials or full names in headlines and graphics' to make clear to readers whether they were referring to George Ryan or the attorney general".[4] In the end, he lost the general election, winning 45% of the vote against Democratic U.S. Representative Rod Blagojevich, who won 52% of the vote.[4]

2010 gubernatorial campaign

Main article: 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election

He ran for governor again in 2010,[5] and lost the Republican primary to State Senator Bill Brady. He was on the receiving end of a great deal of controversy for his conduct in the erroneous prosecution of Rolando Cruz and Alex Hernandez in the Jeanine Nicarico murder case.[6]

Electoral history

Personal life

Ryan and his wife, Marie, had six children.[4]

In 1996, Jim Ryan was diagnosed with Stage 2 non-Hodgkin lymphoma and began chemotherapy.[8] In January 1997, the youngest of Jim and Marie Ryan's six children, 12-year-old Anne Marie, collapsed and died of a brain tumor.[8][9][10] In October 1997, Marie Ryan suffered what appeared to be a near-fatal heart attack as the couple walked near their home;[8] the cause turned out to be a rare virus.[10]

On October 8, 2007, Ryan's son, Patrick, died at the family's home in Elmhurst from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.[8][10]

Death

Ryan died at his home on June 12, 2022, aged 76, after what a family spokesperson described as "several lengthy illnesses".[4]

References

  1. ^ ""Jim Ryan (1946-2022)"". Dupage Policy Journal. June 12, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "James E. Ryan: Distinguished Fellow". Lisle, Illinois: Benedictine University. Archived from the original on May 26, 2008.
  3. ^ [1] Archived February 11, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Pearson, Rick (June 12, 2022). "Jim Ryan, former Illinois attorney general who made 2 unsuccessful bids for governor, dies at 76". The Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  5. ^ [2] Archived November 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ James Warren (January 7, 2010). "When Running for Office, Be Careful What You Wish For". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  7. ^ State Board of Elections. Official Vote Cast at the General Election of November 8, 1994 (Report). State of Illinois. p. 5. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d Kimberly, James (October 9, 2007). "Ryan son is found dead; Suspected suicide is latest tragedy for ex-attorney general". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  9. ^ "Attorney general's daughter had brain tumor". Chicago Sun-Times. January 20, 1997. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
  10. ^ a b c Gutowski, Christy (October 8, 2007). "Ex-attorney general's son dies in apparent suicide". Daily Herald. Arlington Heights, Illinois. Retrieved January 2, 2009.
Legal offices
Preceded by Attorney General of Illinois
1995–2003 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Illinois
2002 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Jim_Ryan_(politician)&oldid=1092986754"