Getty/Tim Boyle

CHICAGO (AP) –  A federal judge has ruled that former Illinois Gov. George Ryan must remain in prison. 

Ryan’s attorneys want elements of his conviction tossed based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision curtailing anti-fraud laws  —  known as “honest services” laws.

Last week, Ryan’s attorneys made an urgent plea for his release after his wife was hospitalized.

Doctors have given Lura Lynn Ryan as few as three months to live. She’s been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer ruled that Ryan must remain in prison.

The 76-year-old former governor has served three years of a 6 1/2-year sentence on convictions of racketeering, conspiracy, tax fraud and making false statements to the FBI.

Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press