Bianchi prevails in tough contest

McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi's bitter fight to retain his job as the county's top lawyer had a sweet ending late Tuesday night.

Bianchi, a first-term incumbent from Crystal Lake, held a seemingly insurmountable lead over challenger Dan Regna early this morning with all ballots cast Tuesday counted in the Republican primary.

Thousands of ballots from early voters remained to be counted, a process that could continue into the early morning hours, but it appeared there were not enough to overcome Bianchi's 3,390-vote advantage.

Bianchi said his victory shows that voters are pleased with what his office accomplished since 2004 and confident it will continue to serve the county well.

"We promised we'd be tough on crime, and we were," he said. "We promised we'd create a mental health court and we did. And we promised we'd save taxpayers money, and we did."

Regna, a former criminal prosecutor under Bianchi predecessor Gary Pack, announced late Tuesday he would seek the GOP nomination again in 2012.

"I'm very proud and satisfied with what we were able to accomplish in just 180 days" Regna said. "Most candidates spend two or three years lining up for something like this, so to get more than 11,000 votes in just six months shows we were moving forward."

While Bianchi campaigned on his office's accomplishments, he often found himself fending off criticism from not just Regna, but former political allies and local police officers over his operation of the state's attorney's office.

The criticism began in September with a Daily Herald report that Bianchi's office had spent about $17,000 in taxpayer money on meals, snacks, parade candy and even his swearing-in luncheon after he took office in December 2004.

A month later, onetime Bianchi backer Bill LeFew announced he was resigning as Republican party chairman because of a complaint about state's attorney spending lodged with the Illinois Attorney General's office.

The attorney general later declined to pursue the case, saying there was no indication of criminal wrongdoing by Bianchi's office.

Regna, of Woodstock, campaigned as "law enforcement's candidate," a claim supported by endorsements from McHenry County Sheriff Keith Nygren and five of the county's largest police unions.

Bianchi said late Tuesday he believes the perceived divide between his office and police officers has been exaggerated, but added that he hopes to create a stronger bond with law enforcement,

"I look forward to working with Sheriff Nygren and his department, and all our departments in the county," he said.

The race revealed a divide within the county's GOP establishment, though the hard-fought, sometimes negatively waged campaign was as much a symptom of the friction as its cause.

Regna's effort won the backing of several key Republican leaders - including LeFew and Nygren - who became increasingly unhappy with Bianchi as his term wore on.

There currently is no Democrat running for the state's attorney's post, but party leaders are expected to nominate a candidate at next month's party convention.