Former Illinois Governor George Ryan, 73, left his home in Kankakee early this morning and headed to a prison in Wisconsin where he has to serve a 6-year sentence for racketeering and fraud after he was convicted on April 2006.

His lawyer Jim Thompson, a former governor himself told the reporters that his client was ready to surrender. "He said OK ... He said he was prepared to surrender," Reuters reports.

Thompson’s request to the court in which he asked his client to remain out of prison

until the justices act on their appeal was rejected by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens on Tuesday. “We knew that our petition for bail was a long shot,'' he told the reporters at a news conference but he also stated that he is highly determined to get Ryan’s case in front of the Supreme Court.

Former governor of Illinois stated himself that he is innocent and he is highly determined to fight for his cause from the prison: "I have said since the beginning of this 10-year ordeal that I am innocent, and I intend to prove that," he said.

Governor Ryan is also known for his considerate opposition to the death penalty for which he gained international acclaim. Democratic state Rep. John Fritchey of Chicago emphasized this in a statement for the media:  "His actions with respect to the death penalty, regardless of what motives people might put behind them, changed the landscape on the issue locally, nationally and internationally."

Ryan had been free on bond pending appeal since the sentencing on September 6, 2006.