Mendrick Defeats Whalen To Become Next DuPage Sheriff

DUPAGE COUNTY, IL — After more than 20 years in office, DuPage County Sheriff John Zaruba is set to retire. In Tuesday's election, voters chose Republican James Mendrick to replace him over challenger Greg Whalen.

Mendrick was the projected winner by 51.23 percentage points to Whalen's 48.77 with 99 percent of precincts in DuPage County reporting.

Mendrick, who graduated from Downers Grove South and currently lives in Woodridge, has been on the police force for 20 years and currently serves as patrol commander for the DuPage County Sheriff's Office.

Election Results

Whalen (D): 165,635 votes

Mendrick (R): 173,976 votes

The Issues

See where James Mendrick and Greg Whalen stand on some key issues that face DuPage County voters in this election.

Communication And Transparency

One of Mendrick's key issues has been focused on improving police and community access to more advanced and streamlined technology. This proposed change might include apps that police officers can use to record witness statements and notify residents of burglaries near their homes.

On his campaign site, Mendrick says, "Our current technology occupies a large space with physical hardware servers and infrastructure equipment. This is an expensive practice which requires ongoing maintenance and costly upgrades. I propose that we leverage more technology such as cloud based solutions to ensure we reduce our overall costs. This technology can be leased and provided through information technology companies at a fraction of the cost."

Whalen agrees that communication between the DuPage County Sheriff's Office and its constituents can be improved. He supports exploring the option of body cameras for police officers, but also acknowledges that there can be "impacts (financially, operationally, logistically)" to maintain such a program.

The Opioid Epidemic

On his campaign website, Whalen promises that "Combating the Opioid Epidemic will be a continued priority which will be fought on multiple fronts." He proposes pro-active education and early intervention, in addition to persistent enforcement of drug laws with the help of drug-sniffing canines. He says, "We must ensure the appropriate community-based services are available to assist those who are directly or in-directly affected by this epidemic."

The opioid crisis has also been a priority for Mendrick throughout his career and subsequent campaign. He supports improved access to mental health care and mentions the fact that his wife is a behavioral health nurse. For Mendrick, tackling the issue of mental health is central to combating the opioid use epidemic. He says, "The jails need to be depopulated and the mentally ill screened out. There is an osmotic assimilation of criminality when you surround people that are mentally ill with criminals. They should be screened out before they end up in the jail by implementing a diversionary program to where both police and corrections officers are trained in [Crisis Intervention Training] so you have two bites at the apple to identify these individuals. I think that’s critical."

Safety In Schools

Mendrick is in favor of preventing school violence with a close partnership between local schools and law enforcement. In addition to a school liaison officer who is trained in identifying signs of mental illness, Mendrick favors the addition of bulletproof glass, lockdown doors, and more improved alert systems.

On his website, Whalen proposes a county-side rescue task force to train law enforcement and emergency responders with skills and a strategy that would go into effect in the case of an active shooter situation. He calls this initiative "extremely important to ensure a seamless emergency response with clear understanding of everyone’s responsibilities while maintaining the overall goal to save as many lives as possible."

Image credit: James Mendrick for Sheriff