Ex-Knollwood Chief Drops Out Of Lake County Sheriff GOP Primary

LAKE BLUFF, IL — Former Knollwood Fire Department Chief Jonathan "Jon" Harlow on Monday dropped out of the race for the Republican Party's nomination for Lake County Sheriff.

Harlow, a 24-year resident of the unincorporated Lake Bluff community of Knollwood and a longtime public safety officer with the village of Glencoe, had filed his nominating petitions to run for sheriff as a Republican on the afternoon of the March 14 deadline.

"For personal reasons and in consultation with my family, friends and team, I have chosen to voluntarily withdraw my petitions to be on the 2022 ballot for Lake County Sheriff," Harlow in a statement on social media.

"This was not an easy decision," Harlow said, "but I promise to continue to advocate for the residents of Lake County, perform my role as a public servant with integrity, champion community policing, and always stress public safety over politics."

During the signature-collection stage of the campaign for the June 28 primaries, Harlow said he decided to run for sheriff due to the increase in violent crime in Lake County. He said a "lack of leadership" from incumbent sheriff John Idleburg had played a major role in the county's increasing crime rates.

"There have been some horrific violent crimes that have been taking place over the last couple years in this county, and things that, growing up here, that never happened in Lake County. If you were to rewind 20 years ago, some of the crimes that are taking place right now would never have taken place back then," Harlow said last month in an interview with the Lake Forest Podcast.

"We always had the running joke that the bubble was put up at Lake Cook Road and a majority of the crime and a majority of the violent crime all was kept south of Lake Cook Road and in Cook County and that just is not the case anymore. There is not a single suburb in this county — and I'm speaking Lake — that is immune to violence anymore," he said. "Something needs to be done. Somebody needs to step up. Somebody needs to take control. Somebody has to put a priority on ending this violence, protecting the residents of this county."

The remaining Republican candidates for sheriff — John Van Dien, of Lindenhurst, and Mark Vice, of Round Lake — each submitted signatures a week earlier than Harlow. Both are sheriff's deputies in Lake County.

Van Dien issued a statement after Harlow's withdrawal, wishing him the best and thanking Harlow for his efforts.

"In the wake of Jon dropping out, I would like to reaffirm my pledge to run a clean campaign that focuses entirely on law enforcement issues all Lake County residents are facing," Van Dien said. "I expect my opponent to continue doing the same."

Patch also requested comment from Vice and will update with any response received.

In the Democratic Party primary, William King, of Zion, is challenging the incumbent Idleburg in his first bid for re-election. According to the Lake County Clerk, someone has filed objections to King's nominating petitions.