(WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Relatives, friends, and elected officials are remembering former Attorney General Jim Ryan.
Ryan, 76, died at his home Sunday after several lengthy illnesses, according to a family spokesman. He was born in Chicago and grew up in Villa Park. From the Kent College of Law, he went on to the DuPage County State’s Attorney Office, where he worked his way up the prosecutorial ranks.
He was elected DuPage County state’s attorney in 1984. He was elected Illinois attorney general in the “Republican wave year” of 1994. He was the GOP nominee for governor in 2002. But the bribery scandal surrounding then Governor George Ryan and the fact that they had the same last name proved to be too much. Ryan lost to Rod Blagojevich. A 2010 run of the Republican nomination for governor was also unsuccessful.
Jim Ryan though faced a great deal of adversity in his life. He was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1996. His 12-year-old died of an undiagnosed brain tumor in 1997 and he lost his son to suicide in 2007.
Ryan is survived by his wife of 54 years, four children, and 11 grandchildren.
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