Daily Herald opinion: A complicated legacy: Ryan’s life, leadership defined by diverse considerations

Upon the deaths of certain political or cultural leaders, the legacy that is left behind can be readily apparent and, even if tinged by sadness, fairly easy to describe.

And then, there is George Ryan.

In one sense, the lesson of his political life is in the penalty for succumbing to the temptations of political ambition and artifice. In another, it is the honor that can come from challenging, and then changing, one’s own long-held social values. In yet another, it is the constructive achievements that can be accomplished through cooperative leadership.

All these story lines play prominent roles in the political life of Illinois’ 39th governor, who rose to power through a combination of hard-nosed politics and pragmatic deal making, won accolades for the determination with which he followed the dictates of his conversion to oppose the death penalty and fell into disgrace for the manipulative guile that too often defined his political ascension, if not his leadership style.

To those who did not know him well, Ryan, who died Friday at the age of 91, was not a particularly sympathetic character. He could be gruff and condescending. He was not a leader of emotional warmth who wore his compassion for others on his sleeve. But for many who worked with and for him, he demonstrated those characteristics through the actions of his life — his abundant devotion to his wife and family, his loyalty to his friends, his willingness to compromise with political adversaries in order to move programs he valued along.

“He was an old-school political leader. Effective (and) got things done. Gruff outside but soft heart inside,” former Republican Sen. Kirk Dillard, of Hinsdale, said of Ryan in an interview with our Marni Pyke.

“At heart, he had good intentions,” said Illinois Revenue Director David Harris, of Arlington Heights, whom Ryan appointed Illinois National Guard adjutant general in 1999.

“(Ryan was) a bold leader who wasn’t afraid to reach across the aisle and bring people together for the greater good. His investments in infrastructure, technology, and education to help create a brighter future for Illinois will long be remembered,” reflected Illinois Senate Republican Leader John Curran, of Downers Grove, in a prepared statement.

For cynics, Ryan serves as yet another Illinois governor to serve time in prison and deepen the state’s reputation for political corruption, and that indignity will forever tarnish his legacy. But in a broader sense, he leaves behind a much more complicated story. It cannot be encapsulated in his disgrace nor in his clemency.

He rose to great heights. He fell to great depths. It is not an unfamiliar political trajectory. But in Ryan’s case, as in perhaps few others, it is one that demands consideration in its full measure.