GOP leaders might try to talk Illinois governor out of re-election bid.(Chicago Tribune)

CHICAGO _ With time running short for Gov. George Ryan to declare re-election plans, the architect of his last campaign has warned him he can't win again, and some leading Republicans have begun discussing a political intervention to persuade the governor not to run, several GOP sources say.

The developments come as Ryan is in the midst of a national fundraising blitz that recently took him from the Yankee Stadium skybox of team owner George Steinbrenner, to Capitol Hill, and back to the Chicago area. Ryan has said he will announce a decision on re-election by Labor Day.

But eyeing Ryan's dismal poll ratings, many among the state's Republican hierarchy have concluded that he simply couldn't win if he sought a second term in 2002. And they believe his presence at the top of the ballot could be a big drag on the party's candidates further down the ticket.

A recent Chicago Tribune poll showed Ryan trailing badly in a head-to-head matchup with prospective Democratic candidates.

Several top Republicans have talked privately about arranging a formal closed-door meeting with the governor to discourage him.

"George's closest friends agree, individually and collectively, that he can't win and that a campaign would put him and members of his family through a heightened level of scrutiny," said one longtime Ryan confidante, referring to an ongoing federal probe into the bribes-for-licenses scandal in the secretary of state's office when Ryan ran it.

"Is all of this unfair? Sure it is. George believes on his record as governor that he deserves re-election. But (the negative public opinion) is a fact of life. You can spend all of your time complaining about it. But that's the lay of the land."