Ex-Governor Ryan Visited Ill Wife This Week

Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan was temporarily let out of prison to visit his gravely ill wife on Wednesday, according to a new government court filing.

Prosecutors said in the Friday morning filing that the Federal Bureau of Prisons granted Ryan's request to visit his wife, Lura Lynn Ryan, who's said to be dying of cancer at a Kankakee hospital. Ryan visited with her for about two hours on Wednesday night, according to the filing.

The filing by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago is the first time the visit had been made public. Ryan's attorneys this week made an appeal to the Bureau of Prisons to allow for his temporary release in order to see his wife of 55 years, who they say may only have weeks to live. They also made a second appeal to a federal judge for his release, based in part on the gravity of his wife's condition.

But in Friday's court papers, federal prosecutors argue that Ryan should not be released from prison based on his wife's illness, since he'd already been granted a temporary release to see her. "A two-hour visit obviously is much less time than Ryan wishes to have with his gravely ill wife," prosecutors wrote, but they maintained that Ryan doesn't deserve "special treatment" by the court simply because his wife is ill.

Lura Lynn Ryan was admitted to the hospital Wednesday after apparent complications from chemotherapy. According to the court motion, the 76-year-old Lura Lynn Ryan has been diagnosed with an incurable cancer of the lungs, back, pelvis, ribs and liver.

Last month, the federal judge overseeing Ryan's case denied an appeal from his lawyers, saying Ryan's six and a half year sentence for receiving kickbacks while in office, "exacted a stiff penalty not only for himself, but also his family."

(Photo courtesy of the Kankakee Public Library)