Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Contracted "Game Changers" to Assist Bianchi

Until McHenryLeaks launched last month, the public was uninformed that Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) had been quietly assisting McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi for over three years.

Early assistance was provided by two contracted media consulting companies: Curry Public Strategies starting October 2007, which morphed into Reverse Spin starting January 2008 -- both from Wheaton and both managed by Dan Curry, which morphed into Delos Communications in 2015.

Despite devoting extensive attention on Bianchi for months, no reference of the ILSAAP media consultant/spokesperson can be located in the McHenry County mainstream news until a few weeks ago. The local media was unaware of Curry's state contract; instead, they described him as "a political consultant", a "friend of Bianchi's", and "the guy in the back of the room with a Blackberry". 

Media references of the ILSAAP spokesperson beyond the McHenry County border, however, have been floating on-line several years for: Winnebago County, Sangamon County/Cass County, Morgan County, the state, etc. Yet, these projects received comparatively little dedication than Bianchi, according to activity reports.

State Agency or Prosecutorial Fraternity? ILSAAP Special Prosecutor Colburn Signed Motion Connected to Client of Bianchi's Attorney

Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor's Chuck Colburn Represents McHenry County in Fee Battle Against Bianchi's Special Prosecutors. In 2008, Colburn Signed Motion Which Might Have Served as Legal Protection for Client of Bianchi's Attorney.

Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) Special Prosecutor Charles Colburn, currently in an Appellate Court fee battle against the special prosecutors of the McHenry County State's Attorney, signed a motion in 2008 which may have served as legal protection of a client of Bianchi's attorney, Terry Ekl. 

This motion is related to an amicus curiae "friend of the court" brief prepared and unanimously approved by ILSAAP's Board of Governors last September supporting public payment of legal fees of the same client of Ekl's.

ILSAAP's highly-publicized motion to Nolle Prosequi Without Prejudice was for the release of Herb Whitlock who had been convicted 21 years earlier, along with Gordon "Randy" Steidl, for the 1986 murders of Dyke and Karen Rhoads of Paris, IL. The granted motion, however, provided no finality for Whitlock; the State still asserts that he is under suspicion and requires additional investigation. 

History Repeating Itself? Amicus Curiae Brief & DuPage Seven Fees

Last September, Illinois Office of the State's Attorney Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) Vice Chairman Joe Birkett led a discussion in a Board of Governors meeting regarding an amicus curiae brief on public payment of legal fees for former Edgar County State's Attorney Michael McFatridge, represented by Terry Ekl.

Comparisons could be made with events 13 years ago.  

DuPage County State's Attorney Birkett had approached the DuPage County Board to pay the legal bills of the DuPage Seven -- three prosecutors and four deputies indicted on 47 charges of conspiracy related to the investigations, prosecutions and convictions involving the kidnapping and murder of young Jeanine Nicarico. Ekl represented one of the prosecutors.

Victims of Justice Revisited, by Thomas Frisbee and Randy Garrett, includes details leading to the trial of the DuPage Seven. This book has been used as a textbook in law schools nationwide to examine how capital cases are prosecuted in the United States. Yet, the book cannot be found in a public library anywhere in DuPage County, according to the LINC system.

Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor Approved Amicus Curiae Brief for Client of Bianchi's Attorney Last September

Same State Agency Representing McHenry County in Illinois Appellate Court Case Objecting Payment to Bianchi's Special Prosecutors Recently Supported Public Payment of Legal Fees for Ekl's Client -- Former Edgar County State's Attorney -- by Preparing "Friend of the Court" Brief

The Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) Board of Governors unanimously approved the preparation of an amicus curiae "friend of the court" brief supporting public payment of legal fees for former Edgar County State's Attorney Michael McFatridge involved in ongoing high-profile federal civil lawsuits, represented by Terry Ekl, according to the Sept. 22, 2010 minutes.

Ekl is also the attorney for McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi. Bianchi was indicted 12 days prior to this meeting.

While ILSAAP agreed to be a "friend of the court" supporting McFatridge's payment of legal fees as a state official, it has taken an adversarial position on the bills of Bianchi's special prosecutors Henry Tonigan and Thomas McQueen. First Electric Newspaper reported that ILSAAP special prosecutor Chuck Colburn last month asked the Second District Appellate Court to overturn McHenry County Circuit Court Judge Gordon Graham's refusal to reduce payments to Tonigan and McQueen.

Information on Bianchi Photo Raises More Questions

The context of a photo currently in rotation on the home page of the website for Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) featuring McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi and others "standing up for justice" unravels.

The gathering, including three members of the ILSAAP Board of Governors members and ILSAAP Executive Director Pat Delfino, was in recognition of IL Rep. Frank Mautino (D), 76th District, as "Outstanding Legislator of the Year" in the fall of 2010 from the Illinois State's Attorneys Association. 

It remains unclear when the photo was taken; one staff person said that the award was announced in October 2010, but not presented until March. The presence of former Sangamon County State's Attoney John Schmidt in the photo suggests that it was taken in 2010 prior to leaving his position for an appointment to the circuit court.  Schmidt served as chairman of ILSAAP's Board of Governors in 2010.

ILSAAP Board of Governors members often serve simultaneously in leadership positions on the Association. For example, former DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett served both as ILSAAP's vice chairman and the Association's president in 2008.  Former Association presidents augment their resumes with such accomplishments.

Standing to Bianchi's left in the photo is LaSalle County State's Attorney Brian Towne who is scheduled to appear today with Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Joseph McGraw in a three-person panel discussion at an ILSAAP seminar in Naperville. Bianchi's attendance in the photo implies that he has served recently on the Association's board.  

Bianchi was indicted on Sept. 10, 2010.

Bianchi's Judge to Instruct May 3 for Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor

Winnebago County Judge Joseph McGraw, who last month ruled in favor of McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi in a swift directed verdict and is also presiding at Bianchi's upcoming trial, is scheduled to instruct at a training seminar for the Illinois Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) May 2 - 6 in Naperville. 

The upcoming training seminar features McGraw on a three-person panel discussion next Tuesday for pre-trial motions with LaSalle County State's Attorney Brian Towne and St. Clair County Chief of Criminal Division Steve Sallerson, according to a course schedule found on the Agency's website.  David O'Connor of Orland Park is shown as the course's coordinator.

In 2010, ILSAAP paid McGraw $625 per day in instructor's fees for two seminars. Since 2005, McGraw has received $18,404 in payments from ILSAAP for instructing at training seminars for assistant state's attorneys.  

The most recent payment to McGraw was $3,125 for services from Oct. 25 - 29, 2010, including a three-person panel discussion on pre-trial motions with O'Connor on Oct. 25th -- three days after McGraw's first hearing involving Bianchi.

Dalby's Prosecutor Received $150,000 in Contracts from Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor

Orland Park attorney David O'Connor, specifically requested by McHenry County State's Attorney Louis Bianchi to be the special prosecutor of Amy Dalby, has received contracts totaling $151,200 since 2007 from the Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP).

These contracts were for designing, developing and implementing training programs for the Agency.  State records show annual contracts of $25,000 for both 2007 and 2008, $35,200 in 2009, and $66,000 in 2010.  For the first two years, his contracts broke down his hourly rate of $145.  

Several of O'Connor's ILSAAP contracts were in effect while he was the special prosecutor of Dalby for the removal of computer files from the state's attorney's office.  During this time, ILSAAP had an active, but mostly quiet, role on behalf of Bianchi.  A contracted media consultant for ILSAAP began working extensively behind the scenes with Bianchi starting Oct. 1, 2007 and continued through June 2009.  Per the request of the McHenry County State's Attorney, ILSAAP's Chuck Colburn intervened on a petition for a special prosecutor to investigate Bianchi prior to Dalby's indictment in March 2009.

Colburn, now representing the McHenry County Board, argued before Judge Gordon Graham last week that special prosecutors should be paid at the same hourly rate as state's attorneys -- about $91.50 per hour.  

Special prosecutors of Bianchi have charged McHenry County $250 per hour, reportedly the same rate of O'Connor as special prosecutor of Dalby. Comparatively little media attention and public scrutiny were given to O'Connor's bill which totaled $65,000.  O'Connor's case against Dalby never made it to trial, as all felony charges were dropped within several months of her indictment.

Bianchi's Judge Received Payments from Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor

Winnebago County Judge Joseph McGraw, who last month ruled in favor of McHenry County State’s Attorney Louis Bianchi in a swift directed verdict, has received $18,404 from the Illinois Office of the State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor (ILSAAP) since 2005 according to state documents.

ILSAAP was created to provide services to state's attorneys including appellate cases, certain drug-related cases and special prosecutions.  (725 ILCS 210)  The entity's Board of Governors is comprised of nine state's attorneys from around the state.  At the time of this publication, a photo of Bianchi standing with ILSAAP executive staff and members of the Board of Governors is in rotation on the home page of the entity's website. 

McHenry County is currently represented by ILSAAP in oversight and objections of bills submitted by outside special prosecutors in the same cases McGraw presides.  A resolution passed by the McHenry County Board in January reads that the county pays ILSAAP $30,000 annually for services to the office of the state's attorney.  

Vouchers and invoices of ILSAAP (listed under Agency 295) correlate with dates of training seminars for assistant state's attorneys where McGraw's name appears. Notations of "instructors fee" are found in documents for a dozen seminars; reimbursement of expenses is never mentioned. 

The most recent payment to McGraw was $3,125 for services from Oct. 25 - 29, 2010, the same dates of ILSAAP's "Basic Trial Advocacy Program" held in Springfield.  The course schedule of this training seminar, found on ILSAAP's website, shows that McGraw was part of a three-person panel discussion on pre-trial motions with David O'Connor of Orland Park on Oct. 25th -- three days after McGraw's first hearing involving Bianchi.

O'Connor was the special prosecutor specifically requested by Bianchi to investigate Amy Dalby, a former employee of the state's attorney's office and a key witness against Bianchi in the case before McGraw last month.  ILSAAP training seminars are coordinated by O’Connor who has had contracts renewed annually since 2007.

In September 2010, McGraw was appointed to preside over the combined 26 felony charges of conspiracy, misconduct and obstruction of justice by Bianchi and his secretary, Joyce Synek.  Bianchi opted for a bench trial in February.  Last month, McGraw declared Bianchi and Synek not guilty of all charges in an unusual directed verdict several hours after the prosecution rested their case and before the defense offered any evidence.  A second trial for additional felony charges against Bianchi and others is scheduled for June.

The Illinois Code of Judicial Conduct guides judges to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.