Funeral to be held Thursday for former Illinois Governor George Ryan​on May 8, 2025 at 3:35 pm

KANKAKEE, Ill. (WLS) — A funeral will be held Thursday for the late former Illinois Governor George Ryan. He died last Friday at the age of 91.

He will be remembered with memorial service in his hometown of Kankakee.

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Ryan had recently been moved into hospice care before his death, former Illinois House Republican leader Jim Durkin said last Friday.

A visitation was held Tuesday at Schreffler Funeral Home – Kankakee Chapel, 1900 W. Court St. in Kankakee.

A memorial service will begin at noon Thursday at Asbury United Methodist Church, 196 S. Harrison in Kankakee.

READ MORE | Former Illinois Governor George Ryan dies at 91

The Republican served as governor from 1999 to 2003. His most high-profile act as governor was to place a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois.

Ryan grew up in Kankakee, where he worked in the family pharmacy before beginning a 40-year career serving in state government.

He rose from speaker of the Illinois House, winning a statewide election as lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and then serving just one term as Illinois’ governor from 1999 to 2003.

The former governor made international headlines halting the state’s death penalty, but that was overshadowed by his conviction on federal corruption. When Ryan was Illinois Secretary of State in 1994, a truck driver who illegally obtained his commercial license, killed six children in a blazing crash.

READ MORE | Illinois officials react to death of embattled former Gov. George Ryan: ‘Able to bridge the gap’

His wife Lura Lynn passed away while he was in prison. He was released in 2013.

Ryan’s halting of the death penalty earned him considerations for a Noble Peace Prize.