McHenry County State's Attorney drops re-election bid

McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi announced Monday that he is not seeking re-election.

After filing his petitions Nov. 23 for the March 2016 Republican primary, Bianchi said last week that family and personal concerns left him uncertain about whether to continue his re-election campaign.

Bianchi, who has served in the position since 2004, will finish out his term, which ends Dec. 1, 2016, he said in a statement.

"After deliberation and careful consideration of the personal and family issues that have been a concern to me and my family, I will be asking our county clerk to withdraw my petitions as a candidate for state's attorney," he said, offering no further elaboration.

In the meantime, Bianchi said he is "devoting 100 percent of my free time to making sure Patrick Kenneally is elected as the next McHenry County State's Attorney."

Bianchi said last week that he asked Kenneally, an assistant state's attorney since 2007, to run for the top spot if Bianchi dropped out of the race.

"He is an experienced, proven prosecutor who is the most capable leader to continue the strong prosecutions and programs initiated by our office these past 11 years," Bianchi said.

Kenneally will face Woodstock attorney Dan Regna, a former assistant state's attorney who worked under Bianchi's predecessor. Regna ran against Bianchi in 2008.