Judge and attorneys work out jury instructions in Ryan trial

CHICAGO -- The two sides in former Gov. George Ryan's racketeering and fraud trial hammered out the wording of jury instructions during a hearing in federal court Saturday, two days before the start of closing arguments.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer listened as attorneys from both sides outlined a variety of concerns with the instructions. She then finalized the language.

Among the issues resolved were what to include in a summary of Ryan's federal indictment, and what to tell the jury about whether Illinois law required leases to be competitively bid before 1998.

Ryan and his co-defendant, Larry Warner, are charged with racketeering, mail fraud and other offenses. Prosecutors say Ryan steered state leases and contracts to political friends and was rewarded with free vacations and gifts.

Both defendants say that nothing they did was wrong.