Ron Hain of Sugar Grove enters race for Kane County sheriff

GENEVA – Kane County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Ron Hain of Sugar Grove announced his bid to seek the Democratic nomination for sheriff in the 2018 election.

Surrounded by supporters May 18, Hain recalled growing up in Elburn and telling his mother when he was 4, "I want to be sheriff of Kane County."

He has worked in policing for 20 years, joining the sheriff's office in 2003. He said he is recognized for catching narcotics traffickers, and wants to fight the heroin epidemic on multiple fronts, including establishing a heroin hotline. It would help the public to access rehabilitation assistance, as well as provide a conduit for anonymous tips.

He would champion the expansion of an existing initiative – Break-the-Cycle Skills to Jobs – which connects nonviolent offenders with employers willing to take a chance and provide jobs. Hain said it helps reduce the recidivism rate for inmates so that the Kane County jail is "not just body in, body out." And it would shrink the prison population.

Another plan is to decentralize the patrol structure, so that deputies are assigned by township. And he wants to make pursuing internet crimes against children a special priority.

Hain said he would collaborate with community colleges to help draw personnel to the department to better represent the county's diverse population. And he would like the sheriff's department to no longer expect that the full salary of safety officers be paid by the Burlington Central and Kaneland high school districts.

He said forfeited assets would help fund his initiatives, adding that the programs' cost savings would benefit taxpayers.

Outside the sheriff's department, Hain is lead instructor for Desert Snow, which trains federal, state and local law enforcement officers in criminal interdiction.

He and his wife, Amy, who is chairing the Hain for Kane campaign, have two children ages 13 and 14.

Hain is one of three Kane County Sheriff’s Office deputies now in the running, including Lt. Willie Mayes of Aurora on the Democratic ticket, and Sgt. Kevin Tindall of Sugar Grove, a Republican. Sheriff Donald Kramer has not announced yet whether he will seek a second term. The primary election is set for March 20.