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Kenneally builds on lead in McHenry County prosecutor race

Patrick Kenneally held a large lead early Wednesday morning in the race for the Republican nomination for McHenry County state's attorney, unofficial results showed.

Kenneally, 37, and challenger Dan Regna, 51, are vying to replace incumbent Lou Bianchi, who has held the officer since 2004. Bianchi initially filed for another term, but dropped his re-election bid in December, citing family and personal concerns.

Unofficial vote totals with 92 of 212 precincts reporting show Kenneally with 18,724 votes to Regna's 10,226.

Kenneally, an assistant McHenry County state's attorney for nine years, said he has experience in almost every role within the office.

Regna, a former county prosecutor and Army captain, works in private practice. He ran unsuccessfully against Bianchi in the 2008 GOP primary.

Kenneally has said tackling domestic violence and substance abuse are his top priorities. He won the Peace and Justice Award from Turning Point in 2009 for his work prosecuting domestic violence crimes.

He's also said he wants to establish special units within the state's attorney's office to prosecute sex crimes and domestic violence cases, and to train attorneys to become specialized in handling them. He also said he wants to create a McHenry County Opioid Initiative to prevent opioid addiction and overdose.

Regna campaigned on a platform of implementing ethical reform in the state's attorney's office, saying he wants to rid the county of political corruption. He said he would make the office more transparent and reduce litigation and staff expenditures.

Both candidates indicated they wanted to improve the office's relationship with police and other law enforcement agencies.

At this time, there is no Democrat running for state's attorney in the November election.

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