Is George Ryan perfect? No. He's grown up in the rough-and-tumble world of politics in Illinois, and he's not perfect.

The state of Illinois didn't get cheated out of anything. Providing benefits to supporters is part of politics and is not a crime.

We were asking for support, meaning we wanted their vote. Apparently in the world of politics in Austin, the spell support 'm-o-n-e-y.' If we had asked for money, we would have written 'We appreciate a contribution,' and would have included a return address envelope.

No witness testified that he ever gave George Ryan any financial or personal benefit for the purpose of influencing his official decisions.

In every one of these contracts, the low bidder got the contract. George Ryan did absolutely nothing to interfere with these contracts.

You want to know something? There isn't a single witness in this case that testified - not a single one - that said he gave any corrupt benefits to George Ryan - ever.