Tonight about six, Assistant McHenry County State’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally announced he is running to replace his boss Lou Bianchi for State’s Attorney.

Kenneally was introduced and endorsed by Bianchi

What struck me most about the speech was that his first day on the job Bianchi brought him in and told him the most important part of the job was to “do the right thing,”

Kenneally vowed to follow that advice as State’s Attorney.

Here is his speech:

On my first day in the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office many years ago, my first meeting of the morning was with the State’s Attorney, Louis Bianchi.

I was expecting to be handed a manual as thick as a phone book of office procedures, case law, and best practices. I had my brand new yellow notepad and was ready to fill up the pages with every last instructions Lou was about to dictate to me.

After nervously entering his office, thanking him profusely for hiring me, I sat down readied my pen on my notepad.

Correctly seeing that in my eagerness, every muscle in my body was probably contracted and I hadn’t yet blinked, he told me to relax and put down the notepad…which I did.

He then calmly said,

“The only way to learn this job is in a courtroom.

“Watch and learn from your co-workers, they’re the best at this in the whole State.

“And the only and most important instruction I’ll give you today is that while working in this Office…always do the right thing.”

Over my many years as a criminal prosecutor, a lot of people told me a lot of things about how to do the job. Lou’s words, however, have always stayed with me and I regard them as the best advice I’ve ever received about what it takes to be a state’s attorney.

I am here today to formally announce my candidacy for the Office of McHenry County State’s Attorney.

I am here today because I hope, with the help of God, to continue doing the right thing for the people of McHenry County.

More importantly, I am here to stand with the McHenry County’s police officers because that’s the right thing to do.

These selfless and brave men and women who everyday risk their emotional and physical well-being to confront, often under heavily fraught circumstances, those selfish few whose criminal conduct tramples upon the rights and safety of all.

These exceptional men and women whose work is the least appreciated and often most misrepresented in broader society.

I am here because this County needs to continue to move forward and not regress.

Prior to Lou’s arrival in 2004, McHenry County was an easy place to work if you were a criminal defense attorney.

Cases were routinely dismissed if the victim didn’t want to press charges, DUIs were regularly amended to traffic tickets, and violent offenders remained free on bond for years while they waited for their case get through the system.

That all changed with Lou.

• No more insider deals,
• no more amendments of DUIs and
• dismissals of domestics, and
• zealous prosecution of the worst most dangerous offenders.

Consider this, of the 10 murder cases that have gone to trial during Lou’s tenure, the State’s Attorney’s Office hasn’t lost one of them.

I should know, I’ve had the honor of personally trying 5 of these cases.

I didn’t start doing murders though. I started in traffic court and worked my way up to the top criminal trial attorney in the Office.

Along the way, I’ve done nearly every job a lawyer can do in an SA’s Office.

•  responsibility that comes with them looking to me for justice.

I would not trade away a single one of these experiences because each of them has shaped my understanding of what it means to “do the right thing” as a state’s attorney.

I am a Republican.

As a Republican, I believe that there is no higher purpose in government than protecting the safety and welfare of the people.

As State’s Attorney, I am, however, first and foremost a servant of the law.

Politics will have no place in the administration of my official duties as State’s Attorney.

I am committed to making the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office

• the best,
• most ethical, and
• most effective

Office in the State.

I look forward to sharing with you my ideas on how I will do that over the course of my campaign.

I look forward to earning your support over the coming months and thank all those here and not here for the outpouring of support this campaign has already received.

Thank you all very much and God Bless.