George Ryan has suffered a great deal since his conviction and imprisonment on federal corruption charges. But before the rest of his 6 1/2-year sentence is commuted, he needs to express remorse and responsibility for his wrongdoing, something the famously stubborn Ryan has so far declined to do.

It's not easy to to feel sorry for George Ryan, even though the former governor has been in federal prison for more than a year, has been publicly humiliated, has lost what would have been a generous government pension and has only minimal weekly personal contact with his wife and other loved ones.

Ryan was convicted in 2006 of various racketeering, fraud and other corruption charges related to his days as governor and secretary of state of Illinois.

He remained free while he appealed his conviction and has served just one year of a six-year sentence that was not considered particularly severe.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said he is considering asking President Bush to commute Ryan's prison sentence, freeing the former governor from prison but not expunging his record.

We too feel compassion for Ryan and believe he has suffered enough.

But the problem is that Ryan has yet to apologize to the people of Illinois for defrauding the state, harming its reputation and adding to what has been dubbed "the culture of corruption" that exists here. In fact, Ryan insisted last year that he had "a clear conscience."

Little good is done by keeping a 74-year-old man, who is not a threat to society, locked up in prison. But until he accepts responsibility for his crimes and expresses remorse, Inmate Number 16627-424 can remain in the Terre Haute Federal Correctional Institution until his projected release date of July 4, 2013.