Former CBS News president Richard Salant (1961 - 64 and 1966 - 79) explained the major media's role: "Our job is to give people not what they want, but what we decide they ought to have." ...and to this very day most Americans haven't noticed they're being brained washed! ~ N. Hooben
Ryan was elected governor in 1998, narrowly defeating Democratic Congressman Glenn Poshard. He received national attention for his 2000 moratorium on executions in Illinois and for commuting more than 160 death sentences to life sentences in 2003. He chose not to run for reelection in 2002 amid a scandal. He was later convicted of federal corruption charges stemming from the illegal sale of commercial drivers licenses which resulted in the deaths of six children while serving as secretary of state and spent more than five years in federal prison and seven months of home confinement. He was released from federal prison on July 3, 2013.