Speaker George Ryan Tough and powerful with a tendency to be abrasive

By SHELLEY DAVIS

HE IS THE man they said wanted to be secretary of state back in November, but George Ryan took the speakership of the Illinois House instead.

"It helped eliminate some problems for [Gov. James R. Thompson] and the Republican party to stay where I was," he says now. And, after almost six months on the job, Ryan (R., Kankakee) said in an interview in late May that he really did not want the secretary of state's job, anyway. It is "mostly administrative," he explains, and, as minority leader for four years, he could not pass up the chance to lead the 91 Republicans in the lower chamber and work with a governor of his own political party.

Ryan has already broken the calmer seas that prevailed in the House during the six years that William Redmond (D., Bensenville) was at the helm. Epithets applied to Redmond — coordinator, peacemaker, compromiser — do not fit the 47-year-old Ryan. He is more often described as a tough and powerful leader with a tendency to be gruff and abrasive. He has been criticized by the other side of the aisle for manipulating the calendar and abusing the rules for the benefit of his own party. Rather than comparing Ryan with his immediate predecessor, Redmond, some say he leads in a style more closely akin to that of W. Robert Blair, who was said to be controversial, heavy-handed and audacious.

Others refute that comparison, saying Blair was a much stronger leader who got involved in issues and often made "deals" with Democratic Minority Leader Clyde Choate. Ryan, they say, has yet to establish any Republican program at all, and seems more devoted to deadlines than to substance.

Critics and supporters alike, however, agree that Ryan is a decisive leader. Right or wrong, he is able to make a decision and stick with it. He is also said to be a sincere and even warm man off the floor and manages to maintain a good sense of humor. Ryan is also credited with holding the Republicans together this session, which has been difficult with reapportionment, the cutback in the House and the tight budget conditions.

Ryan himsjelf "hates" to answer questions concerning his leadership qualities — "I don't want to expose my strengths and weaknesses to the opposition," he says — but does admit he is "more forceful in things . . . and takes the lead on more things" than Redmond did. He says that even though he uses his leadership team, the final decision is his. Despite the fact that the minority Democrats are quick to argue with any of his rulings, Ryan views the badgering as part of the job of the minority leadership. "[Minority Leader Michael] Madigan has used — I think effectively — any opening he can to cause difficulties to me so that he can bring his people all together and keep them together on issues," Ryan says. Disruption, he explains, is one of the few weapons available to the minority, and he admits he often used it as minority leader.

What might be termed unnecessary bickering and fighting in the House, Ryan feels, does not hurt the workings of that chamber. On the contrary, this is one thing that makes the "House the unique chamber that it is." He says the debate, that is often sharp and heated, allows issues to be thoroughly aired on the floor. "Every segment of society is represented out there," he says. Ryan calls the passage of the cutback amendment — which he says will destroy this minority representation — a "tragedy. There're going to be segments of society that are represented in the Illinois House now — that are able to get their viewpoint, at least, aired on the House floor — that may not have that opportunity after the cutback."

Ryan feels single-member districts and the reduction in the size of the House, and the resulting loss in minority viewpoint, will also lead to greater party control. "There will be fewer members to work with," he says "and easier to put together votes in a bloc. There will probably be [few] Republicans from the city . . . [and] there won't be any Democrats elected from the suburbs."

Add to the cutback the fact that this is a reapportionment year, and Ryan says you produce an atmosphere in the House where legislators are reluctant to legislate. New district maps are still on the drawing board and no one yet [May 29] knows if they will be drawn out of a seat in 1982. "They don't know what their district will look like. They don't know who they will run against or who their possible opponents are," Ryan says, "so they're very cautious."

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Ryan missed the last redistricting, which occurred before his election to the House in 1972. Vice president of his family's pharmacy in Kankakee, Ryan comes from a politically active family. His brother, Tom, has been mayor of Kankakee for 16 years. Ryan has served as both a member and chairman of the Kankakee County Board. Other political credits include campaign manager for Tom and then-Sen. Edward McBroom (now a representative from Ryan's 43rd district), and regional director for former Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie's campaign. Ryan's first leadership battle came five years after his election in a close race with former Assistant Minority Leader William Walsh (LaGrange), resulting in a 47-36 Ryan victory. His reelection as minority leader in 1979 came without opposition, as did his January election as speaker.

As when he was minority leader, Ryan says he tries to work closely with the governor. The chance to work with Thompson, however, does not mean that Ryan is the mouthpiece for the Republican party head. The legislature must maintain its identity as a separate branch of government, Ryan says, and as such, he looks at and evaluates Thompson's proposals in much the same way as he does other legislator's bills, never giving blanket approval just because Thompson is governor. "[Thompson's] programs are basically Republican programs not just the governor's programs," Ryan says. "I certainly look at the legislation and decide what I want to do and what I don't want to do, but I don't think [passing the governor's program] is my first and foremost obligation."

Ryan feels transportation, the biggest problem facing the state today, will be the first test Republicans will have to see how well they can work with Thompson. However, he points out that with the geographic split it will be difficult to determine if the representatives not backing Thompson are simply looking out for their constituents' interests or deliberately thwarting the governor's plans. Ryan was chosen in March to sponsor Thompson's controversial gross receipts tax on oil companies, but he tabled the measure after being able to line up only about two-thirds of the Republicans to support the plan. "You've got too many geographic          problems          with transportation," Ryan points out. "You can't expect everybody to get behind the governor on his program because it just can't work."

Leading jointly is how Ryan describes his leadership style. He says he regularly consults with his own leadership team on issues as well as with the Democratic leaders in both houses. He also relies on individual members' expertise on issues, allowing them to explain a particular program and pull together votes for it. Unlike the Democrats, the House Republicans do not hold party caucuses which bind their members to a particular vote on the floor. Ryan can remember only one such caucus in his nine years, which occurred last year "when we went in on unemployment compensation and workman's compensation," he recalls. "[It] was the only time where we locked in most of our members. We didn't get them all, but we got most of them." Instead, the Republicans like to hold conferences — meetings where leadership can keep the membership up-to-date and informed on the issues of Republican concern. Conferences allow members to "come in and a complain once in a while," Ryan adds.

Although the Chicago/downstate split is more readily apparent on the Democratic side of the aisle, Ryan says getting a consensus from the Republicans is just as hard. He points to the suburban/city/downstate split that exists in the party, saying, "Republicans are basically conservative — most of them. [But] to come from an area like Chicago, it's kind of tough to be [conservative]." Social programs, for example, are not usually considered part of the Republican platform. Yet these are programs many city Republicans feel they ought to support while downstaters are against them. Ryan's job then, is also one of weighing everyone's concerns and attempting to come up with compromises on party issues.

While Ryan says he has encountered "no surprises" in his job as speaker, he did not anticipate the amount of time the job has so far demanded. "... we're here almost perpetually," he says. "I'm down here five days a week. . . . It's a full-time job. That wasn't the intent, of course, but that's the way it's working out."

Ryan points to the long hours, salary and "abuse" as reasons for the high turnover in the legislature today. However, he says he is pleased with the high "caliber" he sees in the "bright, young, ambitious people" coming into government service today. He is glad to see the passing of the "old, tired politician who was just here to fill a spot, not really to represent like they should."

Although Ryan would, of course, like to see a Republican sweep in state offices in 1982, he is reluctant to make any predictions. "Reaganomics" will be a large determinant, he says, as to which major party the election swings toward. "If [President Ronald Reagan] is successful in the programs and if the economy picks up and inflation goes down, there could be a Republican sweep. On the other hand, if they can't, you may see the thing turn the other way." However, Ryan feels Reagan has "set the stage and hit the scene" at a time when the public is "fed up with government being involved in their personal lives and their business lives and everything they do on a daily basis."

Ryan, at present, is not admitting to statewide ambitions, only saying he "is open to other options, absolutely." He is enjoying what he is doing and has the best support he can get to keep on doing it — his family. Even though he is still in the early stages of his two-year speakership, he says he will consider another term if the Republicans are still in the majority in 1983. □

For more on George Ryan's leadership style and his political aspirations, see Legislative Action, p. 23 and Politics, p. 35.

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