Bianchi Special Prosecutors Weave Impropriety Charge to Dump Judge Who Dissed Their Case
It’s hard to get dumped on more than Special Prosecutors Henry Tonigan and Thomas McQueen was by Winnebago County Judge Joseph McGraw.
Three days before McHenry County State’s Attorney Lou Bianchi’s lawyer Terry Ekl’s was scheduled to go before Judge Gordon Graham, acting on behalf of six Bianchi supporters, to ask for Tonigan’s and McQueen’s dismissal, basically for incompetence, Tonigan asked permission to withdraw due to his father’s health problems.
The high-billing Thomas McQueen, apparently taking it for granted that Judge Gordon Graham will let Tonigan out of the case Thursday morning, filed a motion on April 26th asking for McGraw to recuse himself based on, at minimum, an appearance of impropriety.
What Special Prosecutor Thomas McQueen desires.
The source of the information behind this motion?
Would you believe a blog?
A new one called McHenry Leaks, whose first post was Saturday, April 16th.
The information on the blog represents significant research into nooks and crannies of the legal infrastructure which it is hard to believe were not found by an attorney.
There is no name attached to the blog.
McHenry County State's Attorney is seen posing as an Appellate Prosecutor's award is presneted to State Rep. Frank Mautino (D-LaSalle County). The photo was published on the McHenry Leaks blog and included as an exhibit in Thomas McQueen's motion to get rid of Judge Joseph McGraw, who delivered a directed verdict dismissing McQueen's charges against Lou Bianchi and his assistant Joyce Synek. Bianchi is on the right hand side of the photo.
So, with someone else doing the research, McQueen is trying to intimidate Judge McGraw to withdraw from the case.
The blog cites McGraw’s income disclosure form from 2010 which shows he must also file with the “States Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor.”
It appears that McGraw was paid $3,125 for being an instructor at a seminar in October, 2010. He spoke the first day, October 25th, at the end of the day on the subject of “Pre-Trial Motions” and was paid $625 a day for the five-day seminar.
The records posted show he had been a paid instructor going back to 2007.
Thomas McQueen. Photo credit: First Electric Newspaper.
McQueen notes that McHenry County Assistant State’s Attorney Michael “Mich” Combs was also a panel member at the October conference. Combs was in the Winnebago County Public Defender’s and State’s Attorney’s Offices before coming to McHenry County.
McQueen admits he does not know what relationship the two had.
Bianchi, however, has recently names Combs as a witness in his criminal case, McQueen reveals.
Chicago Sun-Times coverage of this story from Thursday.
McQueen next notes that the Special Prosecutor for the Amy Dalby case, was David O’Connor and O’Connor was on the faculty and was “Training Director” for the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office.
Publicist Dan Curry, McQueen notes, is also on contract with the same agency. Curry has provided public relations services to Bianchi and Ekl.
Not stating the amount of money that McHenry County pays the Appellate Proseccutor’s Office to do what McQueen and Tonigan have billed over $300,000 for, McQueen characterizes it as “a significant amount.”
I’ve heard the figure McHenry County pays the Appellate Prosecutor’s Office is $30,000 a year.
