Judge: McHenry Co. can intervene in special prosecutor request

McHenry County has the right to intervene in a former employee's request for a special prosecutor to investigate State's Attorney Louis Bianchi, a judge ruled Friday.

But whether it does, and who does it for the county, is a decision for the county board, not Bianchi's office.

In a ruling that seemed to split both sides of the argument, Judge Gordon Graham said that because the county likely would have to pay the special prosecutor's fees, it has a right to object to the request by Bianchi's former secretary, Amy Dalby.

But Graham balked at Bianchi's suggestion that the county use the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor's office, leaving the call up to the board instead.

"The county may or may not want to pursue this," the judge said. "Or they may have their own (lawyer) in mind."

The county, Graham said, has two weeks to have an attorney appear on its behalf before he proceeds with the special prosecutor request.

Dalby is asking for an independent investigation into her claims that she was required to perform numerous campaign-related tasks on county time when working as Bianchi's personal secretary in 2004 and 2005. That work, she said, included typing campaign checks, typing letters to Bianchi supporters and setting up tables at a fundraising event.

Bianchi, a Republican from Crystal Lake, repeatedly has denied performing political duties out of his county office.

A separate special prosecutor probe earlier this year resulted in Dalby, 24, of Woodstock, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge alleging she unlawfully removed computer files from Bianchi's office the turned them over to a political rival. The files, Dalby said, were kept as proof of the political work she did on the job.

Daniel Regna, a former prosecutor who unsuccessfully challenged Bianchi in a heated 2008 GOP primary, has filed a similar petition seeking a special prosecutor.

Assistant State's Attorney Cynthia Schaupp said Friday Bianchi's office is not, and will not, weigh in on the special prosecutor requests. But the county itself might.

"We do not have an opinion one way or the other," she said. "But we believe that the county should not be devoid of representation, or have the ability to appear before (the court) and object if appropriate."