Will County Board member Steve Balich said the sentencing of fellow board member Jackie Traynere—following a computer tampering conviction last month and the dismissal of an alleged hit and run involving a child—raises serious concerns about fairness and accountability.
Balich said the outcome is tied to broader political dynamics.
“This is a Democratic county, controlled by Democrats, the state’s controlled by the Democrats. They protect their own. If it was me, they would have threw the key away,” Balich told Will County Gazette.
On April 7, Traynere, a Democrat, was sentenced to three months of court supervision for illegally accessing the official email account of fellow board member Judy Ogalla, a Republican. She will not have a misdemeanor conviction on her record because of her lack of criminal history and her long history of public service, the judge said.
Traynere was convicted in early March of two counts of computer tampering for accessing Ogalla’s email using a shared password. During that time, she also accessed an email from Balich, a Republican, to Ogalla. She was acquitted on a third count.
Balich called Traynere’s sentence “a slap on the hand.”
“It just reminds me of a double standard,” he said. “She can do whatever she wants and get away with it.”
He said Traynere received preferential treatment after being found guilty of two misdemeanor counts of computer tampering but sentenced to three months of court supervision, avoiding a conviction on her record.
“What she got is basically saying, ‘It’s going to go away,’” Balich said.
Will County Board member Steve Balich speaks out, criticizing what he calls a “double standard” following
Jackie Traynere’s sentencing and the dismissal of a separate traffic case. (Facebook / Steve Balich)
Balich contrasted the result with what he believes would have happened under different circumstances.
“If I did that, and I would have been guilty, I would have been locked up in jail,” he said. “I would’ve had to pay to get out of jail, because I would have been booked immediately.”
In early March, Traynere was convicted of accessing another board member’s email account using a shared password during which time she accessed an email from Balich to fellow Republican board member Judy Ogalla. Traynere was acquitted on a third count.
She testified she was testing a rumored system vulnerability and said she was “flabbergasted” when she gained access. Prosecutors argued she “tripped the alarm,” while her defense characterized the act as exposing a security flaw.
Balich has rejected that explanation.
“She says it was innocent and she didn’t mean to do it and it wasn’t on purpose and all these terms like that,” Balich previously told Will County Gazette. “Bottom line is she had to write in the computer ‘Judy Ogala at Will County Illinois dot com.’ If she didn’t write that in, it didn’t matter. How could she get in? Even if she had the password she couldn’t get into Judy’s stuff. So it was blatant.”
He also questioned whether the conduct extended beyond a single incident.
“How many times did she do it? We don’t know,” Balich said.
Balich said the breach had a personal impact, alleging his own communications to Ogalla were accessed.
“I was violated by this,” he said. “My personal email was stolen by her and spread around. To who? I don’t know, and that’s really wrong.”
He added that the case has undermined his confidence in county technology, saying he now avoids using official email for sensitive matters.
“I don’t think I could ever trust it 100 percent anymore,” Balich said.
The sentencing came the same day a separate traffic case in which Traynere was accused of a hit and run involving a child was dropped after the alleged victim failed to appear in court for a second time.
A judge denied a request to delay the trial, and prosecutors dismissed the case.
“To my knowledge, it should be done and over with,” Will County Judge Derek Ewanic said, according to the Herald-Review.
Despite the conviction and controversy, Traynere remains in office and recently survived a March 17 primary challenge in which her legal issues became a point of attack from opponents.
She is running for reelection this fall.
Traynere dismissed both cases as “political theater.”
“As the song goes, I’m still standing,” Traynere said, according to the Herald-Review.
Balich said he had previously called for Traynere to resign and remains concerned about her continued role on the board.
“She’s the chair of one of the committees I’m on,” he said. “I don’t want to have any conversations with her. I don’t trust her, and I don’t think she deserves to be the chair of a committee.”
Public reaction to the outcome was largely critical on Facebook.
Kay Dolatowski wrote, “What a joke. Anybody else would have gotten time in jail.”
Walter Wieczorek asked, “Would a non government person get the same sentence?”
Rachel Goldberg criticized the sentence, writing, “That’s it? Three months supervision?!?!? She needs to step down from her position. Absolutely shameful.”
Katie Rabenda added, “THREE MONTHS?! That’s a ridiculously and unusually short sentence!”
Some commenters called for stronger consequences.
Patricia Malcom wrote, “Yes she should resign.”
Colleen Cromwell said, “SHE should be fired….”
Others questioned accountability more broadly.
“Not near enough,” Patricia Malcom added.
