Kelley Crushes Opponent In Will County Sheriff's Race

JOLIET, IL - Leading up to Tuesday's election, Elwood Police Chief Fred Hayes boldly predicted that Sheriff's Deputy Jim Reilly would defeat incumbent Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley to become the new sheriff. Reilly, the Republican candidate, came up nearly 38,000 votes short in his bid to unseat his boss, according to unofficial vote totals.

Kelley won by a convincing margin.

With all precincts reporting, Kelley had a commanding lead, about 138,555 votes to Reilly's 100,888, according to unofficial vote totals.

Kelley has been a member of the Will County Sheriff's Department for 30 years. In 2014, Kelley was victorious in his general election race against Ken Kaupas, cousin of former three-term sheriff Paul Kaupas. It was a close race. Kelley, a lieutenant at the time, defeated Kaupas by about 470 votes.

Jim Reilly, who was named Police Officer of the Year in 2016, was also officer of the year in 1991 and 1993 at the Joliet Police Department, his campaign notes.

In late September, Joliet Patch produced a campaign story showing that Kelley was crushing his challenger Reilly in collecting campaign donations.

Election Results

100 percent of precincts reporting

• Kelley: 57.87%
• Reilly: 42.13%

Tuesday's results are unofficial and do not include provisional and late absentee ballots.

Kelley, a Democrat from Lockport, has about $142,600 in his campaign war chest. Reilly, a Republican from Wilmington, now has about $19,000, and that's after raising nearly $10,000 since June 30.

Reilly maintains that campaign donations will not determine who wins or loses on Nov. 6.

"A vote for Mike Kelley is a vote for Michael Madigan and the Democratic machine that Madigan wants here in Will County," Reilly told Patch. "We know financially we're up against a Democratic powerhouse. I'm very optimistic about our campaign. It's a grassroots campaign, one of change and accountability at the sheriff's department. I'm 100 percent confident that I am the better candidate. People of Will County deserve better leadership at the sheriff's department."

Kelley touted his experience as why he's the better choice for voters. He has been at the Will County Sheriff's Department since December 1988.

The following information is posted on Sheriff Kelley's campaign website:

• Added five new drug detection canines
• Consolidated 50,000 pieces of evidence into one location
• Implemented programs to increase transparency and integrity of the department members
• Saved hundreds of thousands by bringing foreclosures in house and no longer paying these fees to a private law firm
• Modernized patrol scheduling to increase coverage without increasing costs
• Taking a proactive approach to the opioid crisis by implementing the Will County Sheriff's Office Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition
• Started a Drug Enforcement Interdiction Team
• Proactive approach to school violence by implementing a training program for the entire department in "active shooter response"

On the other hand, Deputy Reilly maintained that the Will County Sheriff needs to be far more aggressive in stopping the flow of dangerous drugs such as heroin into Will County. Reilly also campaigned on the platform of informing the voters that Kelley is a poor leader and poor manager. Reilly said he will consider overhauling the sheriff's administration, if he's elected.

"Mike Kelley is not a bad person," Reilly has told Patch. "The people that work for him struggle to follow his leadership. Mike also lacks formal criminal investigative experience and has absolutely no narcotics experience at a time when our county and state and country is in the middle of one of our worst opioid epidemics in our country's history."

Reilly's campaign literature also states: "The growing heroin and opioid epidemic in Will County must be tackled head-on. Overdoses, deaths, and property crimes have increased drastically in recent years right here in Will. These drugs were nearly nonexistent in our communities ten years ago but are now being found everywhere, including our high schools, on a regular basis. My administration will aggressively target the drug dealers who victimize users and cause the devastating loss of loved ones due to overdose deaths."

During the campaign, Deputy Reilly also picked up a notable political endorsement from a current police chief in Will County, Fred Hayes, who worked at the Joliet Police Department from 1980 through 2011. His last five years were as chief. Since retiring from Joliet, Hayes took over as chief of Elwood's Police Department.

In an October interview with Joliet Patch, Hayes boldly predicted Sheriff Kelley will lose his bid to win a second four-year term of office in the upcoming election.

Hayes said there is strong dissatisfaction with Kelley's administrative performance and his leadership ability during these past four years across many of the police agencies in Will County. Hayes said many people within the sheriff's department have had enough of Kelley as well.

"I just think we can do better with Sheriff Reilly," Hayes told Joliet Patch. "Everybody I'm talking to, from the cities and law enforcement, is really encouraged by what they're hearing. I'm excited about his campaign and I truly believe he's going to be our next sheriff. I really think he's going to prevail."

Joliet Patch has written a number of articles about the Will County Sheriff's Department inability to solve major violent crimes, most notably the April 2017 homicide of little Sema'j Crosby inside of her family's home in Preston Heights.

"I've called him the absent-minded sheriff; they have an absent sheriff who is rarely in," Hayes said. "He does not address his personnel. They're telling me it's a ship without a rudder ... They're not sure what direction they are headed in right now."

Kelley said he has a great relationship with many of the police officers and police chiefs throughout Will County, including the Lockport Police Department and its police chief, as one example.

Kelley also said he puts his faith and his trust in the members of his upper administration to oversee the criminal investigations unit and make the important decisions regarding the Sema'j Crosby case and the other major cases.

If the voters analyze both candidates, Kelley said, people will realize he is the only candidate on the Nov. 6 ballot who has vast experience and expertise to lead the second largest sheriff's department in Illinois.

"I never left law enforcement and tried another profession ... a 16-year break. I'm here to serve and protect the citizens. I've got 30 years of experience. He's got 13. I've got 11 years of supervisory experience. He has none," Kelley said of Reilly.

Know your voting rights

If you're already registered to vote, you do not need to show your ID in order to cast your ballot — you only need to state your name and address. However, there are limited circumstances in which a voter can be asked for identification, including those who are registering on Election Day, and those voting for the first time after registering by mail. But even in those instances, a voter without ID may cast a provisional ballot, according to the ACLU of Illinois.
People with criminal records in Illinois — including felonies — are eligible to vote once they have completed their sentences (but should re-register to vote upon their release). That includes people who are on probation or parole. Those who have been arrested or charged with a crime but not convicted can also vote, including many of those being held in county jail.

More Illinois voting info: Everything To Know About The Illinois 2018 Midterm Elections

Main image via John Ferak/Joliet Patch, image of Sheriff Mike Kelley via Will County Sheriff, image of Jim Reilly supplied by campaign