Special prosecutor will investigate McHenry Co. state's attorney

Ruling it is necessary to maintain the justice system's integrity, a judge Friday said he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate accusations McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi unlawfully required his personal secretary to perform political tasks while on county time.

"In order to avoid any appearance of impropriety, based on the circumstances we have here, there will be an appointment of a special prosecutor," McHenry County Judge Gordon Graham said.

The judge did not indicate who he would select to examine the claims, instead setting a Sept. 18 court date to name his choice. Once selected, the special prosecutor will have authority to investigate whether anyone broke the law and, if appropriate, bring charges or impanel a grand jury to consider an indictment.

Bianchi, a Republican from Crystal Lake, issued a statement Friday afternoon welcoming the inquiry.

"I am satisfied that this matter will be aired in the proper forum - a courtroom - instead of irresponsible and false statements by my political opponents to the media," the statement reads. "I will fully cooperate with this investigation, just as I did with the previous investigation. My only regret is that these politically motivated and spurious allegations may detract unduly from the good work the men and women of my office perform every day to protect the citizens of McHenry County."

The request for a special prosecutor came from Bianchi's onetime secretary, Amy Dalby, who in a sworn affidavit said the state's attorney had her perform numerous political or campaign-related tasks when she worked for him in 2004 and 2005.

Those tasks, she said, included typing letters to political supporters, creating mailing lists of donors and setting up tables for a fundraising event. Bianchi repeatedly has denied campaigning out of his office.

"I'm happy that there is a special prosecutor getting involved and taking this to the next level," Dalby said Friday.

Her attorney, Wesley Pribla, said he hopes Graham appoints a special prosecutor "who has the nerve to do the right thing."

"This has gone as far as Amy can take it," he added. "Now it's up to someone else."

Bianchi had been subpoenaed to testify before Graham Friday if the judge wanted to hear from him. But the judge instead ruled based only on Dalby's affidavit and other documents submitted to the court, including copies of political letters Dalby said she prepared for Bianchi on county time.

Graham Friday dismissed a similar petition for special prosecutor filed by Woodstock lawyer Daniel Regna, who unsuccessfully challenged Bianchi in the 2008 GOP primary.

"I'm very pleased with the ruling," Regna said of Graham's decision to appoint a special prosecutor. "The integrity of the McHenry County justice system is very much at issue in this matter."

Although Bianchi was not in court, an attorney from the Illinois Appellate Prosecutor's Office was before Graham representing the county's financial interests in the case. Assistant Appellate Prosecutor Charles Colburn at one point attempted to make what sounded to be a motion to throw out Dalby's petition on the basis that any criminal acts would have occurred beyond a statute of limitations.

Graham, however, cut off Colburn before the argument got far.

"It's the role of the special prosecutor to make that decision," he said.

Dalby, 24, of Woodstock, went public with her allegations in March after she was charged with multiple felonies alleging she unlawfully copied and removed thousands of computer files from the state's attorney's office. She eventually pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and received court supervision, but said she removed the files only as proof of the political work she did under Bianchi.

A special prosecutor who investigated the charges against her said Dalby took the documents to Regna's campaign supporters, not any law enforcement agency.

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Related documents</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="/pdf/statement0904.docx">Lou Bianchi's statement (Word 2007)</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>