A Will County judge denied a request by prosecutors Thursday to strike motions brought by New Lenox residents Jeff Regnier and Greta Keranen asking for a special prosecutor to take over their case.
Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak postponed a hearing on the request in light of a Wednesday ruling from Judge Jennifer Lynch. Lynch ruled that Keranen and Regnier were entitled to potential damages from the U.S. Secret Service and the Will County state’s attorney’s office after their seized investment assets were sold.
Attorney Frank Andreano argued Lynch’s ruling demonstrated the state’s attorney’s office had a conflict of interest when it came to prosecuting the remaining criminal charges against Regnier and Keranen. The two were found not guilty of fraud charges in November.
“We have an upcoming hearing against the Will County state’s attorney’s office,” Andreano said. “We’re going to be asking them to write our clients a check.”
If a judge had a litigant who came before them who they had an ongoing legal conflict with, Andreano said, they would recuse themselves immediately. He said that the Will County state’s attorney’s office should do the same.
The conflict between Regnier and Keranen, who own Kee Firearms and Training and Kee Construction, and the state’s attorney’s office began when the couple were charged with financial crimes in 2023. Multiple cars and investment assets the two said were worth millions of dollars were seized, and later ordered returned.
“Our argument is that nobody from there is able to be fair,” Regnier said. “A special prosecutor would be an independent person that specifically works for the court system, not for the state’s attorney’s office.”
Prosecutors asked for Regnier and Keranen’s motions to be struck, claiming that they had not met the burden of proof to show a special prosecutor was necessary.
“Nowhere in the motion does it show an actual conflict of interest,” said Assistant State’s Attorney Colleen Griffin, who argued the motions contained “speculation” and misrepresented the law.
Griffin noted that although Regnier and Keranen had also asked for sanctions against the state’s attorney’s office, Lynch ruled the state’s attorney’s office’s conduct did not rise to that level and rejected the request.
Bertani-Tomzcak denied prosecutors’ motion to dismiss the request for a speical prosecutor, and asked that both sides amend their motions to address Lynch’s ruling before a hearing is held. The case is back in court Aug. 28 at the Will County Courthouse.
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