George Ryan Says He Prays For Willis Children Daily

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 2, 2014 7:35PM

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Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan’s probation ended Wednesday and he granted his first interview as a completely free man with Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed. Ryan didn’t talk about the five years he served in prison on corruption charges but he did say the six children of Rev. Scott and Janet Willis are in his prayers every day.

“It was a terrible, heartbreaking thing to have happened to the Willis family,” said Ryan, referring to the crash that killed six of Scott and Janet Willis’ children.

“As the parents of six children, my wife Lura Lynn and I could never comprehend the grief and heartache the Willis’s endured,” said Ryan, referring to a car accident which claimed the lives of the Willis children.

The Willis’ children were killed in a 1994 crash after Rev. Willis drove the family van over a piece of metal that fell off a truck in front of them, which ruptured the gas tank, causing it to explode. The driver of the truck was later found to have paid a bribe in exchange for receiving a commercial driver’s license.

Further investigation revealed a wide-ranging “licenses for bribes” scandal during Ryan’s time as Illinois Secretary of State, eventually resulting in Ryan’s indictment and conviction on corruption charges in 2006. Ryan spent the next two years trying to stay out of prison and most of his time behind bars trying to have his sentence commuted, citing the frail health of his late wife Lura Lynn.

Ryan told Sneed he intends to look forward instead of reflecting on the past and is writing a book about his time in prison.