Bianchi trial set to start March 21

Attorneys on both sides of the corruption case for McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi met last week via conference call.

Defense attorney Terry Ekl insists that both sides are on schedule for a trial that will be held in Woodstock before Winnebago County Judge Joseph McGraw beginning March 21.

Of course, Ekl would be happy if that date was moot as he has filed another motion to dismiss the charges against his client.

McGraw will hear arguments on this effort March 9.

Bianchi is charged with using county resources for his campaign and faces up to five years in prison if convicted.

Bianchi’s personal secretary, Joyce Synek, also is a defendant.

Conviction in drug case

A 41-year-old Elgin man faces a prison sentence after being found guilty of selling crack cocaine to an undercover police officer near a church.

Jeffrey P. Johnson, of the 2000 block of Medinah Circle in Elgin, recently was convicted by Kane County Judge Karen M. Simpson of one count of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a church.

Authorities say that on July 15, 2009, Johnson sold crack cocaine to an undercover Elgin police officer for $100. The sale was about 600 feet from a church on the 9N900 block of Randall Road.

Johnson is due in court April 7 for sentencing and faces four to 15 years behind bars.

Kane County Assistant State’s Attorneys Mark D. Stajdohar and Scott Schwertley prosecuted the case.

Training, Take II

The Blizzard of 2011 closed schools and businesses and basically wreaked havoc on schedules everywhere.

Fox Valley Court Watch, a volunteer organization that monitors domestic violence cases in Kane County, was one of them.

The group had to cancel a volunteer training day at the St. Charles Police Department, along with an appointment to meet and present 16th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge F. Keith Brown with the group’s report and critique of how the courts handle domestic violence cases.

Kenya Andrews, a Fox Valley Court Watch board member, said officials plan to meet with Brown Feb. 22 at the police station.

As for training, a new date likely will be held in March. The group needs more volunteers for one morning or afternoon a month to observe domestic violence court hearings.

For more information, visit foxvalleycourtwatch.org.

hhitzeman@dailyherald.com