County board officially votes in McMahon as state's attorney

Some observers predicted Joe McMahon would be Kane County's new state's attorney even before County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay formed a task force to find John Barsanti's replacement. On Tuesday, county board members made that prediction a reality.

McMahon will be the new state's attorney as of Dec. 1, when Barsanti moves on to become a judge. The vote on Tuesday was mainly a formality as only two county board members voted against McMahon's appointment.

Bonnie Kunkel and Jennifer Laesch cast the only “no” votes. Kunkel cited Barsanti's letter of recommendation for his First Assistant, Jody Gleason, in casting her vote. Kunkel read a portion of Barsanti's letter indicating a preference for Gleason, in part, because it would be an easier transition since Gleason already works in the office, which Barsanti characterized as a “well-oiled machine.”

“The staff is worried they will need to establish the personalities, reputation and abilities to a new boss for the next two years only to probably need to do it again,” Kunkel read. “These people have not had a pay raise since December 2007 and have worked harder for less pay every year since then.”

Kunkel said she thinks McMahon seems “very capable” of replacing Barsanti, but the letter made a convincing case for Gleason.

“To paraphrase it If it's not broke, don't fix it,” Kunkel said.

Board members Gerald Jones and Mark Davoust quickly pounced on Kunkel's comments. They cited Barsanti's sentiment that McMahon will be a fine state's attorney at last week's Executive Committee meeting as Barsanti's stamp of approval.

Barsanti actually addressed McMahon's pending appointment Monday during his final monthly press briefing. Barsanti said he'll have a long talk with McMahon after his official appointment. Barsanti had a similar talk with outgoing Kane County State's Attorney Meg Gorecki before he ascended to the office in 2004.

“The higher you get up in the office, the more stressful it is,” Barsanti said. “I'm going to give (McMahon) my opinion on a lot of things. I valued (talking with Gorecki) at the time, and I hope (McMahon) does, too.”

Ÿ Daily Herald staff reporter Harry Hitzeman contributed to this story.