Attorney: Ryan to be Released by End of January

Imprisoned ex-Gov. George Ryan is scheduled to be released to a Chicago halfway house at the end of January.

Ryan attorney Albert Alschuler says Ryan will leave prison Jan. 30 through a work release program, something attorneys have mentioned before. The federal Bureau of Prisons website lists Ryan's official release date as July 4. The 78-year-old Ryan is serving a 6 1/2-year sentence in Terre Haute, Ind., for a 2006 corruption conviction.

Attorneys say it's been difficult because Ryan's wife died while he was incarcerated and he has no money.

Ryan was convicted of steering state contracts and leases to insiders in exchange for vacations and gifts while he was in office. He was accused of stopping an investigation into state employees accepting bribes in exchange for truck driver's licenses.