Here is what the U.S. Attorney’s Office sent concerning former Governor George Ryan’s losing his appeal. (Actually, more was sent, but I can’t easily copy it.)

U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE STATEMENT REGARDING RYAN / WARNER APPEAL

CHICAGO —Statement of Gary S. Shapiro, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, regarding today’s decision by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, affirming the convictions of former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and Lawrence Warner, United States v. Warner and Ryan, Nos. 06-3517 & 06-3528:

“We note the Court’s conclusion that ‘the evidence supporting the jury’s verdict was overwhelming.’ Ryan and Warner were convicted of crimes in awarding state leases and contracts that were steered illegally in return for hundreds of thousands of dollars in benefits for Warner and Ryan, including financial support for Ryan’s successful 1998 gubernatorial campaign.

“Regarding jury deliberations, the majority concluded that Judge Pallmeyer ‘took every possible step to ensure that the jury was and remained impartial’and that while the proceedings gave rise to some unusual problems, it remained so. We are now asking the Court to enforce the order agreed to by the parties last December requiring the defendants to surrender within 72 hours.”