Illinois Senate candidate resists calls to quit race

CHICAGO -- Republican Jack Ryan vowed to stay in the race for US Senate despite embarrassing allegations that he tried to pressure his former wife to perform sex acts in clubs while others watched.

"My intention is to stay in the race," Ryan said Monday after a California judge unsealed records of his divorce from Jeri Lynn Ryan, the actress best known for roles on TV's "Boston Public" and "Star Trek: Voyager."

Calls for Ryan to leave the race came soon after the disclosures, but Ryan rejected them.

"I think this is a new low for politics," Ryan said yesterday on Chicago's WLS-AM. "It seems to me it's just a new standard, and I don't think it's healthy for our democracy."

"There's no breaking of any laws," he said in an interview on WBEZ-FM. "There's no breaking of any marriage laws. There's no breaking of the Ten Commandments anywhere."

Jeri Lynn Ryan charged in a custody hearing that during surprise trips to New Orleans, New York, and Paris in 1998, the year before they divorced, Ryan insisted she go to sex clubs.

She described a New York club "with cages, whips, and other apparatus hanging from the ceiling." She said she refused when Ryan asked her to perform a sexual act while others watched.

Ryan denied the accusations and said he felt bad for their son, now 9, that she would falsely accuse him.

"I did arrange romantic getaways for us, but that did not include the type of activity she described," Ryan said in court papers. "We did go to one avant-garde nightclub in Paris which was more than either one of us felt comfortable with. We left and vowed never to return."

Ryan, a millionaire investment banker-turned-teacher, won the GOP Senate primary in March despite having little political experience.

He faces Democrat Barack Obama. Recent polls show Obama holding a wide lead over Ryan in a state that has been trending Democratic in recent elections.

Ryan and his former wife vigorously fought the public disclosure of the files after their existence became known during the primary campaign, arguing that making them public would harm their son.

The Chicago Tribune and Chicago TV station WLS sued to have the documents released. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert A. Schnider ruled in their favor last week because of Ryan's high-profile candidacy.

In a news conference Monday, Ryan refused to comment further specifically on the allegations, saying his response in the court papers spoke for itself. "I am sticking by the exact things I said five years ago," he said.

Ryan has tried to shore up support from Republican leaders in recent days. But one GOP member of the Illinois congressional delegation, Representative Ray LaHood, called Monday for Ryan to withdraw his candidacy.

"There's no way the people of Illinois are going to countenance this behavior from a Senate candidate from the Republican Party," said LaHood, of Peoria.

Republican Senator Peter Fitzgerald, who is retiring and whom Ryan is hoping to replace, remained supportive of Ryan.

Democratic leaders have targeted Illinois as a key battleground in their effort to regain control of the Senate.