Former Governor Dan Walker Recalls Time in Prison

Former Governor Dan Walker Recalls Time in Prison

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As much of the world knows by now, Chicago politics is a sordid history. Three of our past seven governors have gone to jail. And now Rod Blagojevich finds himself in a sticky situation.

Former Governor Dan Walker is one of the ones who served time. But his crimes stem from a savings and loan he owned after his time as governor, not from corruption during his tenure.

Walker may be best known for walking almost 1,200 miles during his campaign in 1971. He wrote about his life in a book called The Maverick and the Machine: Governor Dan Walker Tells His Story.

Walker spoke last year with Eight Forty-Eight’s Richard Steele, before former Governor George Ryan was sent to prison.

And a word of caution, some of Walker’s descriptions of prison life are graphic and disturbing.