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Domestic incident becomes campaign issue in McHenry County state's attorney race

The two candidates running for McHenry County state's attorney say they couldn't be more different.

Dan Regna, 51, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and former Army captain, is a local attorney who ran unsuccessfully against State's Attorney Lou Bianchi in the 2008 primary.

Patrick Kenneally, 37, who has never run for political office, has been an assistant state's attorney for nine years and says he has experience in almost every role within the office.

They disagree on several issues - transparency, the responsibilities of the county's ethics commission, the size of the office - and both candidates vying for the Republican nomination March 15 have argued they are more qualified than their opponent.

One issue they do agree on is the importance of domestic violence and substance abuse cases. Regna, previously an assistant state's attorney, claims he is better suited to handle those cases - and become state's attorney - because of a domestic incident involving Kenneally and his wife that occurred more than five years ago.

Kenneally, who won the Peace and Justice Award from Turning Point in 2009 for his work prosecuting domestic violence crimes, has been an advocate for domestic violence victims since early in his career.

He said he has several plans to tackle those issues further, such as establishing a sex crimes and domestic violence division within the state's attorney's office and training prosecutors to become specialized in handling domestic and sexual abuse cases. He also wants to create a McHenry County Opioid Initiative to prevent opioid addiction and overdose.

During a Daily Herald interview with both candidates, Regna handed out a 2010 Barrington police report detailing a domestic call involving Kenneally and his wife.

According to the report, Colleen Mader called the police from a bathroom at 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 25, saying an altercation between her and Kenneally had become physical. She then asked the police not to respond to their home.

Officers responded anyway and found Kenneally intoxicated outside the house, according to the report. Mader refused to tell police if any physical violence had occurred, the report says, and when officers tried talking to Kenneally, he "became belligerent and insulting."

Mader said she didn't want to press charges and asked officers to leave. Kenneally was not arrested and no charges were filed.

"This man is not competent or qualified to be state's attorney of McHenry County based on this one incident," Regna said. "This goes to character, judgment, integrity."

"This is somewhat sad," Kenneally replied. "I think the Hail Mary pass of a desperate campaign is what you've just seen."

Kenneally said a lack of an arrest is proof nothing violent or criminal occurred that day.

"Anything else that occurred that night, I consider to be a private matter between me and my wife," he said.

"There are horrible moments in your life. There are moments that don't necessarily define who you are," Kenneally said. "What occurred on that day was one of my worst days, and I think trying to globalize that into making any judgment about who I am as a person would be a mistake."

Regna, a 23-year county resident, said the distinction between the two candidates is clear.

"I'm a longtime resident of this county with extensive legal experience and extensive service to this community and to the nation," he said.

Kenneally, however, said his more recent experience in the office makes him the better choice.

"I want to be the next state's attorney because when you're able to carve out a little piece of justice for a victim of domestic battery or a victim who suffered some grave violation, it allows you to do what the average citizen can't," Kenneally said. "That's the type of office I'm going to run - the kind that works on behalf of the victims as well as the public to make this a better place."

Patrick Kenneally is running for McHenry County state's attorney.
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