Former Illinois Governor Ryan set to leave jail on January 30: report

Former Illinois Governor George Ryan gives a statement after being found guilty in his corruption trial in the federal court in Chicago in this April 17, 2006 file photo.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Former Illinois Governor George Ryan is to be released to a halfway house in Chicago on January 30 after spending five years in federal prison for corruption, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on Saturday, citing unnamed sources.

Ryan, a Republican, was convicted in 2006 of racketeering, fraud and other offenses involving favoritism and kickbacks for state contracts and property leases. He was sentenced to 6-1/2 years in jail.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago affirmed the conviction and sentence last year, finding that Ryan failed to provide honest services to the people of Illinois who elected him, and that he violated this duty by giving state benefits to his friends.

Ryan, 78, has been jailed at a federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, as inmate No. 16627-424, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. His formal release date is July 4.

The bureau does not release information about when offenders will go to halfway houses, spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said on Saturday.

Ryan's family and lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ryan's successor in office, former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, in March surrendered at a Colorado prison to begin serving a 14-year sentence on corruption charges.

(Reporting By Tom Polansek)