'Frightened, but confident' Exonerated state's attorney describes how he, staff dealt with charges

A week ago, the corruption trial of McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi and his secretary, Joyce Synek, came to an abrupt and startling end when, before the defense even put on its case, a judge declared them not guilty on a combined 26 felony charges of conspiracy, misconduct and perjury.

Bianchi, believed to be the first sitting state's attorney to face indictment, sat down with the Daily Herald Tuesday for his most extensive interview since he was exonerated on charges he used county resources and personnel to bolster his 2008 re-election campaign. In a separate indictment, Bianchi still faces three more misconduct charges that he lessened and altered criminal penalties for relatives and supporters. Questions on that case were off limits. Whether he seeks a third term in 2012 or asks the county to pay his legal bills is still up in the air.

The following is a transcript of the conversation with Bianchi — edited for space.

Q. A directed motion for a not-guilty verdict rarely works in a bench trial. What was your reaction when Judge Joseph McGraw declared you and your co-defendant, Joyce Synek, not guilty on all 26 combined counts?

A: Satisfaction, happiness. The day had finally come when I was vindicated. During all those trying months and even years, my wife (Jean) was anxious and upset and wondering if the day would ever come when we would be vindicated because, as you know, it's hard on your family.

Q. Can you describe the toll the charges had on your family? Did you lose sleep?

A. Yeah, I'd have to say I lost sleep. I was frightened but confident, always confident because I had known I never did anything wrong. But it was hard. It's hard on your loved ones, it's hard on your family. It was particularly hard on my secretary, Joyce Synek, who is such a dedicated civil servant. I ran for office, I expected my opponents to take a few shots at me, although I never thought I'd get indicted. But she didn't sign up for that. The same with my office manager (Karen Rhodes). It was devastating on her. The emotional toll it took was incredible. The same thing for my wife and my family. But they were very supportive.

Q. Will this experience change your perspective and views on prosecuting defendants? If so, how?

A. I don't think it will change my viewpoint on prosecuting defendants, but as I mentioned right after the verdict I now know what it's like to be accused falsely of a crime. I'll never forget that, and as I mentioned before, I'll take that notion to my grave.

Q. Some of your foes and critics might say that Judge McGraw was lecturing you after he gave his verdict. What is your take on what he said to you and how will you use that going forward?

A. Well, I think he was just cautioning me. Perception becomes reality and even though I didn't do anything wrong, will not do anything wrong, I've got to make sure that no one would think there's anything wrong, that anything I do could be perceived as inappropriate. And I think that we took the same measures he was outlining and took his suggestions, we had started those immediately in 2008.

Q. Here you are, you're the top law enforcement officer in McHenry County and you're facing felony charges that can get you booted from office and even get you sent to prison. What was it like to go to work the day after the indictment as well as the six months leading up to trial?

A. I started the next day after I was indicted the same way I start every day. I start every morning with a prayer. I join (Chief) Judge (Michael) Sullivan for the Pledge of Allegiance and then I have a presence in the courtroom. I go from court to court to talk to my attorneys to make sure the trials are going ahead. I was frightened, but I was focused. I would avoid the pain of indictment. I wouldn't let myself think about it and I visualized, I could foresee it. I kept encouraging my office manager (Karen Rhodes) and my secretary (Synek) — there were times when they would be emotionally upset, I'd keep telling them to and encouraging them to visualize — think about what you're going to say when we're vindicated, where are we going to go, where are we going to celebrate. I don't mean to sound cocky, but it was important to visualize the end. Eight years ago when I first decided to run for state's attorney, I could actually visualize the crowd that night I was elected. I could see the people, I knew who was going to be there, I knew where we were going to be. I could hear the clapping and applauding. And the same way here, I know we had a great (defense) team. I knew I'd done nothing wrong and I could see the end. The other thing I would do, especially the last 2-3 weeks before trial, I would say to (my secretary), ‘We could be in Japan, we could have lost our relatives, we could be suffering from radiation, we could have been swooped up in the water.' My experiences in life have taught me to keep focus and to visualize on the end. As you know, my wife and I are both cancer survivors. You learn a lot about life when you face death. I don't mean to downplay this, but my past experiences, what I've learned, those closest in my family and my faith carried me through it.

Q. I imagine the case was tough on your staff as well. Have you noticed a boost in morale since the verdict? Can you describe what the reception was in your office?

A. Smiles, some hugs, some congratulations. Everyone continued to do their job. Our goal was and always is to keep the community safe and make sure it's a great place to raise a family. I think the only impact on the office is some of the assistant (state's attorneys) were frightened because of the manner and fashion in which I was charged. They all knew the charges should have never been placed and they were relieved when they heard the judge say that, because that's in essence what he said: that the charges should have never been brought.

Q. What's your reaction to the increased scrutiny the McHenry County Board is giving to some of these legal bills that have been submitted by Special Prosecutors Henry Tonigan and Tom McQueen?

A. I think they're concerned. Like all of us in the county, we're all citizens, we're all paying for this. I think they're concerned, they're upset and I want them to be upset. It's a serious matter. My job is not to save money as state's attorney, but if you look at my history we've saved the county hundreds of thousands of dollars in the programs I've instituted and as one of the reporters mentioned, all the money I saved, they're going to be paying to the special prosecutors. So it's a concern. It's like a slap in the face to the county board and the citizens of McHenry County.