By MICHELLE MULLINS | Chicago Tribune
PUBLISHED: July 9, 2024 at 12:06 p.m. | UPDATED: July 9, 2024 at 3:09 p.m.
Will County Board Republican Leader Steve Balich has filed several complaints with authorities alleging board Democratic Leader Jacqueline Traynere engaged in a cybercrime by accessing emails between himself and County Board Chair Judy Ogalla.
Balich, of Homer Glen, said Traynere logged into Ogalla’s email account without permission.
Traynere then forwarded an email exchange between Balich and Ogalla regarding the controversial 143rd Street road widening project in Homer Glen to the county executive, according to Balich.
Balich and five other Republican board members called a news conference Tuesday, calling for Traynere to be held accountable. Balich said he also filed complaints with the FBI, Will County sheriff and the Illinois State Police special investigations unit.
The Will County sheriff’s office took a report but a spokesperson said for reasons of conflict of interest, it was forwarded to the Illinois State Police. A state police spokesman said it has “an active investigation” but no additional information at this time.
The FBI media office said it is standard policy not to comment on any specific investigation.
“As a board member, when I send something out, I think it’s confidential,” Balich said. “I don’t expect anybody, especially another board member, to be hacking into my email, reading it and then sending it to somebody else. So the big question is how does this happen?”
Traynere, of Bolingbrook, said the situation was not nefarious, nor did she hack into Ogalla’s email account.
Traynere said she heard a rumor that when county board members were issued new laptops, they all had the same password. She said she was testing this theory and chose the county board chair. She said she couldn’t believe the chair would have the same password as her.
She said the rumor was correct, and she gained access to Ogalla’s account.
“I immediately closed it,” Traynere said. “It freaked me out.”
Traynere said she later opened her laptop again and didn’t realize she was still logged in under Ogalla’s name. She thought she was reading her own emails, saw an email exchange that confused her and forwarded it to the county executive.
Traynere said she then realized she hadn’t been automatically logged off of Ogalla’s account and called Ogalla to let her know the situation.
“I tested a theory that never should have proven itself,” Traynere said. “I sent an email to the IT department. This is ridiculous. This violates every rule of cybersecurity.”
Traynere said she shouldn’t have tested the theory with Ogalla, the Republican chair from Monee, but rather a fellow Democrat.
Balich said that everyone on the county board had the same password, but the members were not aware of it nor were they told to change their passwords after the laptops were issued. He said as the Republican leader, he should have been told that passwords were the same.
“To me, this is a very serious thing,” Balich said. “I want her held accountable. What does that mean? I don’t know what accountable is going to be.”
Traynere said she was unaware of the news conference until after it happened, and said it was a “political stunt” by board Republicans.
“These antics take away from the role we are supposed to be playing here, which is to move county government forward to help our residents,” Traynere said.
Balich said there is a lack of trust among board members.
“There’s a big dissension on the board, between Republican and Democrat, just like the country,” Balich said. “And there are very few issues that seem to not be contentious.”
Traynere said actions like the news conference do not help bridge the gap.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.
