Ryan hangs on to Illinois ballot

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CHICAGO -- Jack Ryan, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate for Illinois, has yet to fulfill his promise last month to forfeit his spot on the ballot, and it's making his state party nervous.

Mr. Ryan has become an official thorn in the side of the party because no new candidate can be named until he submits the withdrawal paperwork, a one-sheet form that goes to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Mr. Ryan was approved by voters in the March primary, but later said he would bow out after divorce records revealed that he had taken his ex-wife to sex clubs.

"Now he's being an obstructionist," said Barbara Peterson, who is part of the 19-member panel charged with naming a new candidate. "We could have a replacement for him tomorrow if he would sign those papers. We have a minimum of 12 people ready to be interviewed for this ballot spot."

George A. Preski, another panel member, also wants Mr. Ryan to file the papers immediately.

"As it stands right now, we have no meeting scheduled to discuss a new candidate," he said.

Another top party official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Mr. Ryan made his promise to get out of the race June 25, and wonders why the 44-year-old former investment banker has failed to follow through.

"All he has to do is take five minutes to fill out a form to officially drop out. What's he waiting for?"

Mr. Ryan's campaign did not return calls this week, but two weeks ago, a spokeswoman said he would file when he gets the time.

"This is not impeding the effort to find a new candidate," said Dan Proft, a consultant to the Ryan campaign and president of Illinoisleader.com, a Web site that covers Illinois politics. "The Republican Party should worry about getting its own act together at this point."

Mr. Ryan was to run against Barack Obama, a young black Democrat who is a rising party star.

The battle to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Peter G. Fitzgerald was, at the time, viewed as key in the fight for control of the Senate.

But Mr. Ryan bowed out when previously sealed court documents from his 1999 divorce included charges that he had visited sex clubs with his then-wife, actress Jeri Ryan. Mr. Ryan denied the charges.

He has blamed the media for focusing on details of his private life rather than issues. Others in his camp have blamed the state party for failing to stand up for him and for pushing him out, an accusation the party denies.

"Nobody forced him out of there," said Jason Gerwig, a spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party. "He misled the chairman, he said that there was nothing in those documents. He was the one who made the decision, and she respected that decision."

Party leaders at one point called on former Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka, who took one look at a media throng camped outside his restaurant here last week and vetoed the idea.

The mix of potential Ryan replacements includes former Gov. Jim Edgar; Andrea Grubb Barthwell, former deputy director in the Office of National Drug Control Policy; and even rocker Ted Nugent.