This is about a relatively new but promising resource for Illinois activists at the local level. It's called For the Good of Illinois and the goal is simple: Help community activists take steps for greater transparency in local government. Its mission:
For The Good Of Illinois was founded to empower regular people with the means to change how politics is practiced in Illinois state government. We want to rekindle the spirit of public service among our elected officials.
Everyone has a role to play. Government will be accountable to citizens who demand transparency. This is why grassroots organizing is so important. We're working to return Illinois to its roots: the citizen.
We suggest fellow citizens adopt the philosophy of, "Not On My Watch!" and do something now to move Illinois in a different direction. ForTheGoodOfIllinois.org provides a simple road map to do this.
With all of our time and talent, we want to make Illinois right again - for regular people.
The founder is Adam Andrzejewski, whose father ran twice (1976, 1978) for state representative against George Ryan. He's always wondered how things might be different now if his dad had won, and his answer is to criss-cross the state to train activists, especially of the "budding" sort, in how to achieve gains in government transparency with a bottom-up approach. Andrzejewski envisions an "Open Book Revolution."
Well it looks like George Ryan might be headed to prison after all. Yesterday the Federal Appeals Court upheld his conviction by a vote of 2-1. (The dissenter saying that the jury deliberations were "dysfunctional" and therefore Ryan and co-defendant Larry Warner deserved a new trial.)
Ryan will have to report to prison within 72 hours unless something new happens. The next step for Ryan is to appeal for an Appeals court hearing "en banc". This is supposed to be "rarely granted", but Ryan's appeals bond was also "unusual". Until I see Ryan in an orange jumpsuit, I won't believe that he's actually headed to jail.
In any case, it looks like it's one step closer to justice... Maybe Ryan should have had his state workers go to work for George Bush's Presidential campaign like he did for Phil Gramm.
It looks like George Ryan is not headed to jail, at least not right now. An appeals court has ruled that Ryan can remain free while his appeal is heard. (Judge Pallmeyer had denied this request earlier and ordered Ryan to jail in January.) Eric Zorn has more including a "trusted source of mine with roots in the legal and law communities" who thinks that the ruling suggests that Ryan's appeal will stand up.
Section 3143(b) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code governs release pending appeal by the defendant. It provides that convicted, sentenced defendants shall be detained pending their appeals unless the judicial officer finds two things: (1) that the defendant is not a flight risk or a danger to the community (an easy hurdle for Ryan and not important here); AND (2) "that the appeal is not for the purpose of delay and raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in-- (i) reversal, (ii) an order for a new trial, (iii) a sentence that does not include a term of imprisonment, or (iv) a reduced sentence to a term of imprisonment less than the total of the time already served plus the expected duration of the appeal process."
So for the appeals court to order Ryan freed on appeal, it must have found or held that the second of the above conditions was met... Has the Seventh Circuit found that the appeal raises a substantial question of law or fact likely to result in a reversal or an order for a new trial? It appears so.
We here at SoapBlox/Chicago would be remiss if we didn't at least take the time to mention that former Illinois Governor George Ryan was sentenced to prison today. The Governor will spend 78 months in prison (less if he has good behavior) starting January 4th, 2007. Of course he is appealing the verdict and he may be allowed out on bond while his appeal is heard. Rich Miller, the non-partisan muckraker, has more.
