Hotly-Contested Lake Co. Sheriff's Race, Candidates to Watch in Tuesday's Election

Photo caption: Sheriff Mark Curran (left) will face newcomer Jason Patt (right) in Tuesday’s election.

Lake County residents will head to the polls Tuesday to vote on state, county and congressional races.

The Lake County Sheriff’s race should be one to watch Tuesday. Sheriff Mark Curran, an eight-year incumbent, will face newcomer Jason Patt, 36, who is an investigator for the Lake County Coroner’s Office.

Tuesday’s elections comes following some controversial years for Curran. He has been criticized for how he handled a sex discrimination case and the deaths of two former inmates -- incidents that lead to lawsuits, according to the Chicago Tribune. Two of those lawsuits cost the county millions.

But Curran, a former prosecutor for the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office, says disgruntled employees are to blame for some of those controversies and adds that his management experience makes him the candidate to continue as sheriff, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The only management experience Patt has came during his time as a lead petty office in the Navy between 1996 and 2004. But Patt says he would be able to improve employee morale and also criticizes Curran’s spending on administrative travel and salaries, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Patt, a Democrat from Zion, said he would cut two high-paying administrative positions and use that money instead to fund deputies, the Daily Herald reports.

Curran, 41, of Libertyville, said that decision by Patt highlights his lack of experience and that cutting the positions without first conducting a management study “would reduce the number of nonunion employees,” according to the Daily Herald.

Get more information on this race and more hotly-contested races in Lake County by clicking on the articles below.

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