WOODSTOCK – A former assistant state's attorney filed an appeal Friday after a federal judge tossed his suit last month in which he said he was fired for testifying against McHenry County State's Attorney Lou Bianchi.

Kirk Chrzanowski filed the lawsuit in January, seeking more than $50,000 in damages. Last month, the judge ruled that Bianchi and Criminal Division Chief Michael Combs were protected against civil damages as long as their actions were not a violation of constitutional rights.

Chrzanowski testified against Bianchi, who was accused of giving deals to a relative and an investigator’s relative, as well as a politically connected doctor. Bianchi had been accused of directing Chrzanowski to reduce a previously negotiated five-year sentence to four years, but Bianchi was acquitted of all charges against him over the course of two trials.