John Clemens Ryan[1] (born October 6, 1959) is an American businessman, former investment banker and politician who was a candidate in the 2004 U.S. Senate race in Illinois.
His 2004 campaign for the Senate, against Barack Obama, received widespread media attention for the disclosure of sealed custody documents stemming from his divorce from actress Jeri Ryan.
In 2015, Ryan left 22nd Century Media to launch REX, a technology-based real estate services company that works outside the MLS to sell homes.
[9] Ryan worked at Casa Juan Diego, a refugee camp for Latinos fleeing the Central American civil wars in 1981.
[9] During his tenure there he took on a client acquisition role, contacting prominent CEOs about hiring his firm to examine the internal numbers of a company's business, subsidiaries, and divisions down to the most minute detail.
[13] When asked why he chose to enter the news media industry, Ryan told the Chicago Reader, "I was committed to improving the communities in which we live, and our profession seemed like a very good way to do so."
Feeling that a similar process would take place with the various sections of traditional newspapers, Ryan believed that he was suited for work in local journalism.
[15] In 2021, REX filed an antitrust lawsuit against Zillow, Trulia, and the National Association of Realtors seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief for alleged anti-competitive practices.
However, after his divorce records containing damaging allegations were unsealed and made public, he announced his decision to withdraw his candidacy on June 25, 2004, and officially filed the documentation to do so on July 29.
[17] During his Senate campaign, Ryan supported across-the-board tax cuts, tort reform, and reductions in federal spending, and was a proponent of equal opportunity in education.
[18] In 2004, Ryan's staff had Justin Warfel (a campaign worker) follow Barack Obama throughout the day and record everything he did in public on videotape.
Five years later, when Ryan's Senate campaign began, the Chicago Tribune newspaper and WLS-TV, the local ABC affiliate, sought to have the records released.
[26] On June 22, 2004, after receiving a report from the referee, Judge Schnider released the files that were deemed consistent with the interests of Ryan's young child.