Ryan refusing to discuss charges

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Gov. George Ryan refused Wednesday to address key questions raised by the indictment of his campaign organization, including whether he has testified before a grand jury.

Trailed by reporters as he left the state Capitol, Ryan again and again refused to discuss what he knows about allegations that his campaign was a corrupt organization that used government employees and resources for political work.

"If that's all you've got to talk about, goodbye," the Republican governor said angrily. "Don't ask me any more questions about it, because I'm not going to answer."

Named in the indictment are Scott Fawell, 44, Ryan's former campaign manager and chief of staff, and Richard Juliano, 34, a former Ryan campaign manager.

Juliano has agreed to plead guilty and cooperate with investigators.

Earlier in the day, in an interview with The Associated Press, Ryan said, "They're friends of mine, and they've been friends of mine, and I hate to see their lives destroyed like this."

Ryan, who was planning an evening appearance in Chicago, refused to discuss the investigation.

"There's been a lot of rumor, innuendo, bad reporting, inaccurate stuff that's come out about it; now it's where it belongs, it's in the courts, and the investigation continues, so I really have no comment on any of it," he said.

Tuesday's indictment alleges that Ryan's campaign organization illegally used secretary of state employees to help GOP candidates for the House in 1996. House Republican leader Lee Daniels denied any wrongdoing, saying he is not a target of the investigation and has not been called before a grand jury.

Federal prosecutors asked Daniels in the fall for records of payments between his GOP committees and a company owned by former lawmaker Roger Stanley. The 80-page indictment alleged that Ryan's campaign arranged for Stanley's companies to secretly pay secretary of state employees for work on House GOP campaigns for Daniels -- sometimes on state time and while drawing state salaries. Daniels was not implicated in any wrongdoing and the indictment did not say that he was aware of the alleged arrangement.

"We got a request for records. We put them in a box and sent them to investigators. That's the last we heard," said Daniels, R-Elmhurst. "No House Republicans are, nor is the House Republican Campaign Committee, under any kind of investigation."

The fallout from the indictment was a topic in the halls of the Capitol. Sen. Patrick O'Malley, R-Palos Park, renewed his call for Ryan to resign, and many Democrats predicted they would be able to turn the scandal to their political advantage.

"It's very unfortunate, but the arrogance of power, being in power for 25 years, finally caught up with them," Rep. Jay Hoffman, D-Collinsville.

Rod Blagojevich, the Democratic nominee for governor, already is using the issue against his opponent, Attorney General Jim Ryan, no relation to the governor. Jim Ryan should have investigated wrongdoing under George Ryan, Blagojevich argues.

"We want to know if Jim Ryan was doing that job or not," said Blagojevich campaign chairman David Wilhelm. "The people of Illinois deserve better. After 25 years of one-party rule, it's time for a change."

Jim Ryan says he has a strong record of prosecuting corrupt officials, both in his current position and as DuPage County state's attorney. Blagojevich cannot say the same, Ryan's campaign said.

"Where has Rod Blagojevich been during his public career while Jim Ryan has been cleaning up public corruption?" asked Jim Ryan's campaign director, Steve Culliton.

The federal indictment alleges that Citizens for Ryan was a corrupt organization that essentially turned Ryan's secretary of state office into a political machine.

A Ryan spokesman said Tuesday that the governor was "unaware" of any wrongdoing. "Whatever my spokesman said, I gues he knew what he was talking about," was all Ryan would say.

Ryan has been charged with no wrongdoing, but his standing in the polls has dropped sharply and he declined to run for a second term as governor.

Federal prosecutors say they are far from finished with the investigation, which started with low-level employees taking bribes to issue illegal drivers licenses and has reached the highest levels of Ryan's organization.

Fawell, Juliano and attorneys for Ryan's campaign committee were scheduled to appear before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer on Tuesday for arraignment on the indictment.

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Associated Press writers Nicole Ziegler Dizon, John O'Connor and Amanda York contributed to this report.