Kaupas clinging to small lead in Will County sheriff’s race

Either way Will County has a new sheriff. The last name might be the same.

Results were close late Tuesday, with Republican Ken Kaupas clinging to a more than 240 vote lead over Democrat Mike Kelley. Kaupas had 92,979 votes to Kelley’s 92,737 votes, according to unofficial vote totals from the Will County Clerk’s Office.

Kaupas, the Will County Sheriff Office’s deputy chief of investigations and media spokesman, is the second cousin of Paul Kaupas, who has been sheriff for 12 years.

“Either way this race gave me another opportunity to throw off the cover of Paul Kaupas’ cousin,” Ken Kaupas said. “After 31 years of law enforcement I’ve earned my own name.”

Mike Kelley said he was still waiting on the absentee votes. He said he would have to “see what the numbers are first,” before deciding if he wants a recount on the votes.

“I got an overwhelming amount of support from within the department,” Kelley said Tuesday night. “[During the campaign] I met a lot of great people, but these are the guys who came out and said ‘We’re behind you.’ That’s satisfying in itself.”

Tuesday’s results do not include absentee ballots postmarked before Nov. 4 but received after Election Day or valid provisional ballots cast Monday or Election Day.

The final vote tally won’t be known until Nov. 18 when provisional ballots and a small portion of Aurora that is inside Will County is included. All votes will become official Nov. 25 when the county clerk’s office certifies the election.

A discovery recount can be requested in instances where it could tip the scale, Schultz Voots said.

Kelley, a lifelong Lockport resident, has been a sheriff’s deputy for 26 years and is currently a sergeant in the investigations section.

Sheriff’s deputies are currently scheduled for eight-hour shifts, but Kelley felt switching to 10- or 12-hour shifts has overlapping manpower at busier times.

Kelly also wanted to have foreclosure sales brought under the auspices of the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office. He claims bringing operations in-house will save enough money to hire more correctional deputies to reduce overtime costs.

Kaupas, a Shorewood resident who grew up in Chicago and Lemont, served 26 years with the Illinois State Police as a trooper and investigator. He retired in 2009 after five years commanding the state police district that includes Will County.

Kaupas said it was meeting people one-on-one while campaigning that made the biggest impression on him.

“I’d never run for office before and I really didn’t know what to expect,” Kaupas said Tuesday. “I’ve met a lot of fantastic people in the last 18 months. Some were for me. Some were against me, but they all shared concerns for what happens in our county.”

Kaupas wanted a new centralized headquarters built to address storage concerns and improve communication.

Kaupas also planned to prioritize recruiting and training replacements for a large number of deputies and civilian staff hired as the department expanded in the early ’90s who will be eligible for retirement during the next sheriff’s tenure.