In a letter released to President Bush on Monday, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin asked him to “consider commuting the sentence of former Governor George Ryan to time served.” The 74-year-old Republican former governor has served one year of his federal prison sentence for racketeering, fraud and other offenses.

Ryan was convicted of steering contracts, using state resources to run campaigns, and killing an investigation of bribes paid in exchange for truck driver licenses. He is pinning his hopes for early release on Bush, as it is customary for an outgoing president to issue pardons and commute sentences before leaving office.

The Democratic senator said in the letter though the President’s action would not pardon him of his crimes or remove the record of his conviction, it would, nevertheless, allow him to return to his wife and family for their remaining years.

Durbin said the former governor has paid a price by losing his government pension, having his family name ruined and being separated from his frail wife. Talking to reporters, Durbin said that he was moved by the plight of Ryan’s wife, Lura Lynn, who is in ill health and needs her husband by her side.

Durbin is adding his voice to others who have called for Ryan’s freedom, including Governor Rod Blagojevich. In his letter, he has described Ryan’s circumstances in dismal terms. He said: “Ryan has lost his state pension benefits and a commutation will not restore them. He would emerge from prison facing economic uncertainty at an advanced stage of his life.”