Keep McHenry County Safe

McHenry County families deserve to feel safe, yet we’ve already seen concerning signs of Chicago’s crime creeping out into surrounding communities. We cannot let this crime into our safe and peaceful McHenry County.

My whole life I’ve been taught that honoring, protecting, and serving people is the right thing to do. That’s why I’ve served in the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office since 2004. I started as a patrol deputy, worked my way up to detective, then sergeant, then lieutenant, then deputy chief, then chief of operations and now as Undersheriff.

I’ve had the honor of serving under and learning from Sheriff Prim since he was elected in 2014. It would be an even greater honor to build on the foundation he has laid at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

We face many challenges today, especially with politicians mandating so-called “reforms” that make it harder for law enforcement to do our jobs and protect our communities. With my extensive experience in the sheriff’s office, I can shift the focus to finding ways for our office to improve without burning out our dedicated officers.

I have a plan to improve our officer training so they can confidently handle any situation and provide even better service for the community. I will continue building countywide programming to better address non-criminal mental health calls. I will make our office more transparent and strengthen the community’s trust in us. I will ensure our office is out in the community talking to kids and mentoring the next generation. And I will bring positive reforms to our jails.

AS YOUR SHERIFF, I WILL PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS AND YOUR POCKETBOOK. I WILL STAND UP TO LIBERAL POLITICIANS AND THEIR ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC. I WILL HOLD ALL LAWBREAKERS ACCOUNTABLE AND SERVE ALL RESIDENTS EQUALLY. I WILL DEFEND YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS. I WILL WORK TO ENSURE OUR OFFICE CAN COOPERATE WITH ICE AND OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES. AND I WILL PROTECT YOUR HARD-EARNED TAX DOLLARS.

We have a lot of work to do. We don’t have time for on-the-job training for someone trying to transition from part-time law enforcement to being our full-time sheriff. We can’t elect a restaurant owner who has never served in this office, with experience only in small, part-time police departments like my opponent. Our sheriff’s office has over 400 employees, a budget of approximately $35 million, and serves more than 300,000 people. We need a sheriff ready to lead that force and keep us safe on day one.

For 20 years, I’ve worked in the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and upheld our core values of honor, professionalism, pride, engagement, and service over self. I’m ready to serve as your sheriff.

MY WIFE AND I CHOSE TO RAISE OUR KIDS HERE BECAUSE OUR FAMILY IS HERE AND BECAUSE THE VALUES OF THIS COMMUNITY ARE OUR VALUES. WITH YOUR VOTE, I WILL CONTINUE TO UPHOLD THOSE VALUES AS YOUR MCHENRY COUNTY SHERIFF, AND I WILL KEEP MCHENRY COUNTY SAFE.

► Protect Our Families

► Build on Sheriff Prim’s Successes

► Defend Your Rights and Your Pocketbook

Protect Our Families

There is no greater calling than protecting the families in our county. I accept that challenge. As your McHenry County Sheriff, I will keep our county safe.

McHenry County families deserve to feel safe. Under Sheriff Bill Prim’s leadership and partnership with county Chief’s of Police, the crime rate has gone down. The crime rate is calculated by the Illinois State Police. While many other communities across the state and country have seen increases, McHenry County has bucked that trend and is safer.

We want to know our kids are safe riding their bikes in the neighborhood and won’t be hit by a drunk driver. We want to know our roads are secure as we drive to work and our grandparents go to church. We want to know we can safely go to the grocery store without risking getting mugged. We want to know our wives and daughters don’t have to worry about predators. Public safety is a quality of life issue that is a priority here in McHenry County.

I grew up believing that honoring, protecting, and serving people is the right thing to do. That’s why I’ve served in the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office since 2004. I didn’t always want to be in law enforcement, I actually went to school to become a pilot. But after 9/11, I knew I needed to help protect my country and community, so I shifted my focus to criminal justice with a goal of becoming a Federal Air Marshal. Then I got the opportunity to join the sheriff’s office, and I’ve served there ever since.

I have served as a full-time law enforcement officer during my entire law enforcement career, starting as a patrol deputy, working my way up to detective, then sergeant, then lieutenant, then deputy chief, then chief of operations and now as Undersheriff. I’ve missed vacations and had to leave family parties and Thanksgiving dinners because I was on call but I have always had the support of my family and friends.

I serve our county because I love my family. My parents, sister and her family, wife, and kids all live here in McHenry County, and they’re everything to me. I need to keep them safe and I need to keep you and your family safe too. . I watched as my parents sacrificed and worked tirelessly to make my life better than theirs. Now it’s my responsibility to make my daughter’s lives better than mine—that’s the American dream.

When Sheriff Prim asked me to step up to and run for Sheriff, I knew I needed to do it to protect and serve the public as well as my brothers and sisters in blue. I am motivated by challenges, like when my high school coach told me I was too small to play on the team as a junior. So I worked my rear end off, put on 40 pounds of muscle, and came back my senior year as the starting safety and team leader. If I did not believe I was up to the task I would not have run for Sheriff. Since that decision was made I was named Undersheriff, and then elected Sheriff, where I work hard to make sure you are safe.

Build on Sheriff Prim’s Successes

I’ve had the honor of serving under and learning from Sheriff Bill Prim since he was elected in 2014. It would be an even greater honor to build on the foundation he has laid at the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office.

We face many challenges today, especially with politicians mandating so-called “reforms” that make it harder for law enforcement to do our jobs and protect our communities. Improvements are needed, but as usual, government has done a great job of mandating remedies, not fixing the actual problems. With my extensive experience in the sheriff’s office, I can shift the focus to finding ways for our office to develop and build our dedicated officers’ skillsets without burning them out.
 
One of my key focuses is on training. As an athlete, you don’t go to practice once then play ten games—it’s the other way around. We shouldn’t be forcing our officers to learn on the job, we need to give them the training and practice they need to confidently handle any situation. With our new training facility, our law enforcement officers will be able to train all hours of the day, all days of the week, including classroom training, physical fitness, and firearm practice. This will help us provide even better service for the community.
 
With law enforcement increasingly being required to handle mental health issues due to the lack of mental health facilities and care, we need to be better prepared for these crises. I will continue the work I started by building a countywide police social worker program and improving crisis intervention training for our officers. This will make us better equipped to handle non-criminal mental health calls and ensure those individuals receive the care they need.
 
We also need to be more transparent. I was instrumental in bringing in a social media expert and we are rebuilding our website with a goal of better communicating with the public. I want to go back to the days when law enforcement were the good guys, and I believe if the public hears about everything we do, not just the bad stories, they’ll be more likely to support us. This also ensures our community trusts us so they feel confident calling when they need our help, knowing that when they do, the problem will be prevented or solved.
 
I am a big proponent of bringing the Sheriff’s office out to the community, especially talking to kids and mentoring the next generation. As a proud member of that next generation, I am in a unique position and can relate. I want to help young people understand that our profession is honorable and inspire them to step up to help protect their community. Future police officers are in the high schools and colleges right now and we need to reach out to them.
 
Finally, I want to do a better job of bringing community leaders into our jail to mentor inmates and help them prepare to be better citizens after their release. I also support a sheriff’s work alternative program where criminals with minor offenses can participate in a work release program where they can provide service to the community instead of serving jail time.
 
As you can tell, we have a lot of work to do. We don’t have time for on-the-job training for someone trying to transition from part-time law enforcement to being our full-time sheriff. We can’t elect a restaurant owner who has never served in this office, with experience only in small, part-time police departments like my opponent. Our sheriff’s office has over 400 employees, a budget of approximately $32 million, and serves more than 300,000 people. We need a sheriff ready to lead that force and keep us safe on day one.
 
For 20 years, I’ve worked in the McHenry County Sheriff’s Office and upheld our core values of honor, professionalism, pride, engagement, and service over self. I’m ready to serve as your sheriff. With your vote, I will continue to uphold those values as your McHenry County Sheriff.

Defend Your Rights and Your Pocketbook

I will hold all lawbreakers accountable and serve all residents equally regardless of race or nationality. The law is the law. We must enforce the law consistently, professionally, and without prejudice.

McHenry County is a special place. Even as liberal politicians pushed their anti-police rhetoric and the media tried to convince us the public is against law enforcement, you never saw that here. This county stands with our law enforcement. Even last year during a Black Lives Matter march in Cary, our law enforcement officers were there to protect the protesters’ First Amendment rights, and immediately after, many of them came up to thank us.
 
I will stand up to these politicians and against this misguided “defund the police” rhetoric. When Springfield politicians cater to Chicago and Cook County special interests and try to push bills through in the middle of the night to the detriment of our ability to keep families safe in McHenry County, I will cry foul and demand law enforcement be given a seat at the table. I will hold all lawbreakers accountable and serve all residents equally regardless of race or nationality. The law is the law. We must enforce the law consistently, professionally, and without prejudice.
 
I will defend your Second Amendment rights. I served on the SWAT team, and I have a healthy appreciation and respect for guns. In fact, when I went to FBI SWAT School, I was the top shot. I will always protect law-abiding citizens’ right to own guns. I will also always encourage those citizens to take that responsibility seriously and safely.
 
I will protect your hard-earned tax dollars. Our property taxes are exorbitantly high in McHenry County, and while the percentage that goes to the sheriff’s office is very low, it is my responsibility to be fiscally prudent. I will ensure we aren’t budgeting more than we need by providing our officers the tools they need to succeed while being prudent with our expenditures. I will look for programs that bring in money to offset costs to taxpayers, like donor programs and utilizing seized money so illegally gained money is used to offset the tax dollars of hard-working taxpayers. With the loss of the ICE Detention program at the Jail the county will lose a large revenue stream. Experienced management of the Sheriff’s is now even more important.
 
I understand McHenry County because I am McHenry County. I graduated from Leadership Greater McHenry County and serve on the board for Big Brothers Big Sisters of McHenry County. I’ve run on the Prairie Trail. I drank beer at the Rusty Nail. I’ve responded to a 10-54 “Livestock on the Roadway” call and corralled a steer back into its pen. I’ve had to lasso deer and pull them off the road. There’s a reason my wife and I chose to raise our family here. The values of this community are our values, and we celebrate them every day. As your sheriff, I will stand for those values that make McHenry County such a special place.