Grundy County state’s attorney hoping for statewide office

When Jason Helland was elected as the Grundy County state’s attorney in 2012, it had been 28 years since a Republican held the office.

Now, Helland has thrown his hat in the ring for the office of Illinois secretary of state, which has been held by Democrat Jesse White for 20 years.

Helland will run unopposed on the Republican ticket for the secretary of state race.

Helland said when he ran for state’s attorney, he was at the right place at the right time, and said he was confident that this race may be the same scenario. Will Helland break the Democratic reign in the secretary of state office in the 2018 election just like he did in the state’s attorney’s office in Grundy County in 2012?

A Grundy County native, Helland grew up on his family farm and graduated from Seneca High School in 1994. He then attended Joliet Junior College for five semesters and earned an associate degree in applied sciences in law enforcement, and had an internship at the Will County Sheriff’s Office.

Helland then transferred to the University of St. Francis, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1999. He attended John Marshall Law School in Chicago in 2000 and graduated in 2003.

“I knew, based on my law enforcement background, the state’s attorney’s office was where I wanted to be,” he said.

Helland took a position as assistant state’s attorney at the Kankakee County State’s Attorney’s Office for eight years until he was elected to his current position in Grundy County.

“He did an awful lot of hard work. He pounded the pavement, knocked on doors and wore out shoes,” campaign manager Aren Hansen said. “When Jason took over the state’s attorney’s office, he brought a fair and balanced office with equal justice under the law.”

Helland said the biggest challenge of being a state’s attorney was “informing the public that, in the decisions I make, I have thoroughly considered the facts of the case in the situation. I hear from all parties. The public tries to rush to a conclusion, whether what I did was right or wrong, with only 20 percent of the facts and education.”

He said he takes pride in his ability to remove himself from any hidden or political agendas during a case, and act in a fair and responsible manner.

After failed attempts with funding by the previous state’s attorney administration to implement a mental health court, when Helland came on in 2012, he took on the challenge and received the funding from a state grant.

“This was a shift in criminal justice reform. We are trying to get to the root of the problem, find out why they are re-offending and offer prevention. We now have 12 to 15 people in mental health court,” Helland said.

Why run now?

Helland said that right now, the state of Illinois is in the worst shape financially, and the bond status is just above junk.

“It’s never been more volatile times,” he said.

He said there are 30 members of the General Assembly leaving or running for other offices.

“Our lawmakers are so frustrated how Springfield is being run, they are just giving up. Career politicians have killed the financial stability of the state, which has a large number of unpaid bills. The problem is career politicians,” Helland said. “We have a secretary of state who believes the current office can run more efficiently, but he didn’t get that accomplished in his first five terms.”

Helland said he knows he would be the perfect person for the job because he knows how to be frugal, run a balanced budget in the state’s attorney’s office and in his personal finances.

He joked that his suit cost more than his car, which he bought at a police auction for $600, and hopes it will last throughout the campaign.

He also has the desire to uphold the Constitution, which says that states need a balanced budget. He has a legal background, knowledge and experience. He said he is able to interpret the state Constitution, regulations and statutes.

According to Illinois.gov, the secretary of state’s main duties are to maintain official state records and the state seal, but “law and tradition have assigned many additional responsibilities to the office, which has one of the largest and most diverse collections of responsibilities of any of its counterparts nationwide.”

“As a public servant, Jason remains fair and balanced. With the shape Illinois is in right now, the state could use someone like Jason,” Hansen said.

Helland said one of his main concerns is traffic safety. In 2016, Helland; his wife, Sara, and daughter, Harper, were hit by a drunken driver in Morris.

Helland swerved, and the driver hit the rear side of the vehicle and tried to take off. Helland pulled the driver out of the vehicle and held him until police arrived at the scene.

Two hours later, at the Morris Hospital, the driver’s blood alcohol level was 0.40, when anything more than 0.08 can be considered impaired to drive.

He also does not want to see recreational use of marijuana passed in the state. He said a poll of inmates at the Illinois Department of Corrections found that inmates who used drugs had an average age of first use at 12 to 14.

Helland said Colorado, which has legalized recreational use of marijuana up to one ounce for those at least 21 years old, has witnessed the highest rate of substance abuse by adolescents in the nation, and increased traffic fatalities.

“I have a concern about that,” he said.

He said that if the state allows the legal usage of recreational marijuana, the General Assembly needs to earmark money to support substance abuse and treatment programs, but Helland does not feel confident this would happen.

Helland said he’s an average Joe, but that he does not play to lose. He said he refuses to sit on the sidelines and wait; he wants to make change in the state, and thinks of the future of his 5-year-old daughter.

He hopes she and other children can go to schools and colleges that have the support of the state and can find a career in the state without having to look elsewhere.

Helland has been in 18 counties in 60 days to meet with other elected officials to pick their brains on what these communities need from Springfield, what programs they have implemented and what works and what has not. He still works full time for the people of Grundy County and spends the rest on his campaign and with his family.

“My No. 1 job is doing my state’s attorney responsibilities, then being the best father and husband I can be. Politics come after that,” Helland said. “I go to events on nights and weekends and work it all into my schedule. I actually think being on the campaign trail and meeting people, and talking to elected officials, has been beneficial to my current job, as well.”