Former prosecutor pays to settle wrongful prosecution claim: He was accused of trying to frame McHenry County state's attorney

By Robert McCoppin

In an extremely unusual move, a former special prosecutor has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit claiming that he tried to frame the McHenry County state's attorney.

Former special prosecutor Henry C. "Skip" Tonigan III, previously a chief judge in McHenry and Lake counties, agreed to pay $157,500 to settle the suit by State's Attorney Louis Bianchi and others. Tonigan admitted no wrongdoing in the agreement, but he declined to comment further.