Mudslinging - Typical...

The Northwest Herald took quite a shot at former SAO attorney Kristen Foley yesterday morning. I read and re-read the editorial and, frankly, I consider it a cheap shot. I’ve been following this, because I believe the Attorney General’s office should not have released the complaint or the identity of Mrs. Foley. In fact, I wonder if a law was broken by its having done so.

The Northwest Herald editorialized that “Allegations … have been revealed to be nothing more than the politically motivated attacks many suspected from the start.” Whew… that’s a mouthful.

Oh, really? Who says? Just who is the expert, qualified authority who determined them to be such? First, they have to be such “politically motivated attacks”? Who says they are?

Who said, “The best defense is a good offense”? I'll bet he wasn’t talking about football. If an elected officeholder in the County – ANY elected officeholder – spends $56,000 in cash and by personal credit card (or allows his employees to do so), such action deserves criticism at the very least. The County Auditor has raised her eyebrows at these expenses, and the listing was published by the Daily Herald reveals the nature of the expenses.

Why would not the Northwest Herald – “the” daily newspaper of McHenry County – chase its own story on this?

The water became muddied by the different issues raised as the political season began to arrive. Each should be examined on its own merits.

The Northwest Herald lowered any standards it had by attacking an individual whose complaint was made public – a complaint which should have been held in confidence. I’m curious how Bill LeFew got hold of it and why he would have talked about it.

For County Treasurer Bill LeFew to say that he might have to resign as GOP County Chairman in the event of an investigation by the AG and a request to produce records was absurd. His hat as Chairman and his hat as Treasurer must be separate from one another. Claiming to have a conflict-of-interest because he needs to “protect” fellow Republicans is enough to make a person laugh – or throw up. As Party Chairman he should be interested in ferreting out the truth, not “protecting” fellow party members!

Was it smart for Mr. Bianchi to spend, or allowing the spending of, $56,000 this way? Absolutely not. Was it illegal? Only a careful, detailed audit of the expenditures will determine this. If the legitimate business purpose of every expenditure is documented on the receipt or by his or his employees’ logs, then perhaps it was merely poor judgement to run up $56,000 in expenses to be reimbursed.

I hope Mr. Bianchi’s expenditures were not criminal. If someone, anyone, has proof that they were, then he or she must step forward.

For election consideration I shall be much more interested in the candidates’ performance, abilities, qualifications and intentions than the mudslinging of days just past.