SA Investigator's Lawyer Asks Charges Be Junked

McHenry County State's Attorney Investigator Ron Salgado will be arraigned before the same Winnebago County Judge who will start the trial of State's Attorney Lou Bianchi for Official Misconduct and on the day that's supposed to begin. That was the outcome of a mostly procedural hearing in McHenry County Circuit Court Monday.

Bianchi was hit for the second time last week with a round of misconduct indictments by Special Prosecutors looking into alleged wrongdoing in the State's Attorney's Office.  Salgado was indicted, too, for supposed special treatment for his "nephew" in a felony case.

Salgado's defense attorney, Phil Prossnitz, said his relationship to the supposed nephew was even more tenuous than previously reported.  "He was Salagado's wife's sister's husband's first wife's grandson by a previous marriage," he said.  "I'm probably closer related to you than that."

Apart from that, Prossnitz, filed a motion to throw the indictment out of court for faulty law in the first place. Salgado's charged with helping his "nephew" get a year lopped off a drug sentence.  If the clause covers that, said Prossnitz, "Every felon who got five years can sue because some other one got four." 

"Convicted felons are not a protected class," he said.

Bianchi's most recent indictments allege the same constitutional violation.

Salgado's arraignment isn't officially due until March 21 but Prossnitz also filed a motion asking for a speedy trial.  He said Salgado might be arraigned tomorrow when Bianchi is scheduled for arraignment again before Judge Joseph McGraw who will be in Woodstock to hear motions on the State's Attorney's original Official Misconduct case.