RYAN, George Homer, Sr.

RYAN, BOWMAN

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 3/30/2007 at 18:00:37

RYAN, George Homer, Sr., 41st Governor of the State of Illinois, was born in Maquoketa, Jackson County, Iowa, on February 24, 1934, the son of Thomas J. Ryan and Jeannette Bowman. George C. Ryan, M.D., of Maquoketa, uncle, was the attending physician at his birth. The Ryan family moved from Maquoketa to Kankakee, Illinois, where George graduated from high school. After the end of hostilities, Ryan served in Korea in the U.S.Army from 1954 to 1956. After his service in the military, Ryan attended Ferris State College in Big Rapids, Michigan, where he received a bachelor's degree in pharmacy and then operated his father's pharmacies in the Kankakee area. George and his wife, Lura Lee, have one son, George, Jr., and five daughters, Joanne, Julie, Jeannette, Lynda and Nancy. Governor Ryan began his political career in the Kankakee County Board in 1968 and went on to the Illinois legislature from 1973 to 1983, including a term as Speaker of the House. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois from 1983 until 1991, and then was Secretary of State until 1999. Ryan was elected Governor and served one term until 2003. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to the death penalty. Three years later, on April 17, 2006, he was convicted of public corruption and was sentenced to six and one-half years in prison. Ryan is appealing his conviction.
Sources: Birth records, Jackson County Recorder's Office; Wikipedia Encyclopedia.