Ryan, co-defendant found guilty
Former Republican Gov. George Ryan was convicted of corruption Monday in the scandal that ended his political career in 2003 at the same time he was winning international acclaim for commuting the sentences of everyone on Illinois’ death row.
Ryan, 72, sat stone-faced as the verdict was read and vowed afterward to appeal.
He was convicted of steering state contracts and leases, including a $25 million IBM computer deal, to political insiders while he was Illinois secretary of state in the 1990s and then governor for one term. In return, he got vacations in Jamaica, Mexico and California and gifts ranging from a golf bag to $145,000 in loans to his brother’s floundering business.
His co-defendant, Chicago businessman Larry Warner, 67, was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, fraud, attempted extortion and money laundering.
ATLANTA
Governor signs immigration bill
Georgia’s governor signed a sweeping immigration bill Monday that supporters and critics say gives the state some of the toughest measures against illegal immigrants in the nation.
“I want to make this clear: We are not, Georgia’s government is not, and this bill is not anti-immigrant,” Gov. Sonny Perdue said at the signing.
“We simply believe that everyone who lives in our state needs to abide by our laws.”
The law requires verification that adults seeking many state-administered benefits are in the country legally. It sanctions employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants and mandates that companies with state contracts check the immigration status of employees.
The law also requires police to check the immigration status of people they arrest.
The measure is believed to be the first comprehensive immigration package to make it through a statehouse this session, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
NEW YORK
State judge fines transit union
A judge fined the city transit union $2.5 million Monday for the illegal strike that brought buses and subways to a standstill for three days just before Christmas.
Judge Theodore Jones of state Supreme Court in Brooklyn also ruled that Transport Workers Union Local 100’s automatic dues collection will be suspended indefinitely. The 33,000-member union can reapply for automatic collection after 90 days.
State law prohibits public employees from striking.
The judge ruled this month that the union president who called for the strike, which halted the nation’s largest mass-transit system for 60 hours during the holiday shopping rush, should be jailed for 10 days and fined $1,000 for contempt.