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ALS as president, one page both sides, 6.5 x 4.25, presidential 'Camp David' stationery card, January 13, 1991. Handwritten letter to Lieutenant Governor of Illinois George Ryan, in full: “As you take on your big new responsibilities, I want to send you my congratulations and my warmest personal best wishes. I will never forget your steadfast support and leadership—Good luck in this big, new, challenging job.” In very fine condition, with a slight rusty paperclip impression. Accompanied by the original ‘Camp David’ mailing envelope, hand-addressed by Bush to “The Honorable George Ryan, courtesy Sec. Sam Skinner," a reference to Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner.
Bush wrote on the eve of Ryan’s inauguration as Illinois secretary of state. On January 14, 1991, Ryan concluded eight years as lieutenant governor under James R. Thompson and succeeded Jim Edgar, who left the office to be sworn in as governor. Ryan had come to statewide office from the Illinois House of Representatives, where he served as minority leader from 1977 to 1981 and as Speaker from 1981 to 1983. The card also dates to a consequential weekend for the Bush administration: on January 12, both houses of Congress authorized the use of military force against Iraq, three days before the United Nations deadline for Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait.
George Ryan (1934-2025) served five terms in the Illinois House before becoming lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and, in 1999, governor of Illinois. As governor, he drew national attention for imposing a moratorium on executions in 2000 and, shortly before leaving office in 2003, commuting the sentences of the state’s death-row inmates. His political career was later overshadowed by Operation Safe Road, a federal corruption investigation that began with bribes for commercial driver’s licenses during his tenure as secretary of state and ultimately resulted in his 2006 conviction on 18 counts, including racketeering and fraud, and a 6½-year federal prison sentence. Ryan, who had chaired George W. Bush’s Illinois campaign in 2000, later sought clemency from Bush but did not receive it before Bush left office in 2009.
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