Attorney for ex-Ill. Gov. Ryan vows to 'fight on'

CHICAGO — An attorney for George Ryan says the imprisoned former Illinois governor won't give up his legal fight despite a federal appeals court ruling upholding his corruption convictions.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday flatly rejected arguments that the 2006 convictions should be overturned because prosecutors never proved Ryan took a bribe.

Ryan attorney Jim Thompson says he and Ryan's family were "enormously disappointed with the ruling."

But Thompson vowed to "fight on" for the convictions to be tossed. He says additional appeals could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He calls the appellate decision a setback. But he hastened to add that it's not Ryan's last available legal recourse.

Ryan has served about three years of a 6 1/2-year sentence in an Indiana federal prison.