March 27, 2008
By PETE GONIGAM

McHenry County Democrats made it a race in November for the State’s Attorney’s office.
Meeting in Woodstock March 19, they voted unanimously to slate Woodstock attorney Tom Cynor to run against
incumbent Republican Louis Bianchi.
Democrats also voted to slate Woodstock insurance agent Kerry Julian to run against Republican Auditor Pam
Palmer and put up two candidates for County Board District 2, Anita Harmon and Jill Mawhinney, both Crystal Lake.
Cynor, 39, until this month head of the McHenry County Democrats, is a research attorney for the County’s Circuit
Court and a former insurance litigator and special prosecutor. He had earlier said he would not seek but would accept
the Democratic state’s attorney’s spot if it were offered.
At the slating meeting, Cynor appeared to recycle some of the issues Republican primary challenger Dan Regna tried
to use against Bianchi.
“Not so,” said Cynor. “If you actually read the law, you’ll find they’re valid issues.”
One such matter was how Bianchi was spending some of the funds budgeted for his office.
“The Attorney General’s letter (declining to investigate Bianchi’s office spending) said it was a matter for the county’s
ethics officer. That’s Tom Carroll, Lou’s first assistant. Guess where that one’s going to go.
“And the high turnover in the State’s Attorney’s office,” Cynor said. “State law says political hiring and firing is limited
to the first assistant and the office manager. Lou’s tried to make his entire office staff political appointees. The
turnover there is symptomatic of something wrong.”
Democrats failed to slate anyone to run against State Senator Pamela Althoff, R-32nd, but have until April 7 to do so.

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