Attorneys for Will County Board member Jacqueline Traynere plan to mount a “vigorous defense” and expect a “favorable outcome” in her misdemeanor computer-tampering case.

On Tuesday, Colin “CJ” Haney, an attorney with the Joliet-based law firm Tomczak Law Group, issued a statement on behalf of Traynere after her first court appearance at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet.

The law firm is owned by Jeff Tomczak, a prominent defense attorney who served as the Will County state’s attorney in the early 2000s.

Traynere, a Bolingbrook Democrat, is charged with unlawfully accessing the emails of Will County Board member Judy Ogalla, a Monee Republican, and forwarding Ogalla’s emails to herself and others.

The offense is a Class B misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to six months in jail. Traynere has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Will County Judge Derek Ewanic will preside over Traynere’s case after Judges Colette Safford and Donald DeWilkins recused themselves. DeWilkins told the attorneys in Traynere’s case that he knows Ogalla and considers her a good friend.

Haney said the preliminary investigation by the Tomczak Law Group indicates that each County Board member was provided the same password for their county email accounts.

“Upon learning this, [Traynere] immediately notified the [information technology] department of this significant security issue and requested that new passwords be issued. Clearly, this would constitute a violation of standard computer security protocols that should be in place, even in small, locally owned businesses, let alone the third-largest county in the state,” Haney said.

The law firm is investigating whether the “former County Board leadership was aware of this security issue and chose not to require any corrective actions,” Haney said.

“We anticipate mounting a vigorous defense and expect a favorable outcome,” Haney said.

Traynere is a longtime member of the County Board who lost to Roger Claar in the 2017 election for Bolingbrook mayor. Traynere would run again for mayor in 2021 and lose to Mary Alexander-Basta.

At the time of the 2017 mayoral race, Traynere said the catalyst for her effort to unseat Claar was him inviting U.S. President Donald Trump to the Bolingbrook Golf Club in 2016. The luxury club was once known as the “Rog Mahal,” in reference to Claar.

In response, Claar said in 2017 that he doesn’t agree with everything Trump says but also thinks what Trump says has been twisted and distorted. With Trump in office at that time, Claar said, “the people have spoken.”