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Below is an election questionnaire for Democratic Putnam County Sheriff Candidate, Joshua Boedigheimer. Boedigheimer is running against Republican Candidate Brian Gonet, whose questionnaire can be seen here.
Full Name: Joshua Boedigheimer
What office are you seeking? Putnam County Sheriff
What offices, if any, have you previously held? Standard Village Trustee (Illinois)
City: From Standard (Illinois) / Currently Living in Mark (Illinois)
Occupation: Putnam County Deputy Sheriff and Trident Narcotics Team Commander
Education:
Associates Degree (Criminal Justice) - Illinois Valley Community College
Bachelors Degree (Criminal Justice ) - Illinois State University
Police Training Institute Certificate - University of Illinois
Supervisor of Police Personnel Certificate - Northwestern University
Narcotic Investigator - Iowa Camp Dodge Training Center
Hidden Assets in Vehicles and Commercial Vehicles /Advanced Vehicle Contraband
Reid Method of Interview
Lead Homicide Investigator
Street Crimes
Juvenile Officer
Other Law Enforcement Training and Continued Education
Campaign Website: Boedigheimer for Putnam County Sheriff on Facebook
What would be your top three priorities over the next four years?
The landscape of law enforcement has and will continue to change at a rapid pace, requiring advancement in technology, specialized training, and the recruitment and retention of personnel. Advancing the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office to meet these changes, while being fiscally responsible with taxpayer funds, will be a top priority for me as sheriff.
Proactively addressing crime to keep our community safe and providing the leadership, training and opportunities to my deputies needed to accomplish this task.
Continuing strong relationships with the community, first responders and local law enforcement partners to provide the professional service that is expected of the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
Taxes are a top concern raised by voters locally. What do you do within your position to address residents’ tax burden?
As sheriff of Putnam County I will work closely with the county board on budget matters concerning the Sheriff’s Office; utilizing the taxpayer funds properly will allow me to keep reasonable operational expenditures and competitive compensation for those that work at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.
I feel it is important to work closely with the States Attorney to ensure that criminals are held accountable and to successfully secure fines and forfeitures that could offset operating costs and expenses of the Sheriff’s Office which will effectively help in the budgetary needs for the county.
Using my experiences and the relationships gained in law enforcement, I can recognize opportunities where resources can be pooled, identify sound financial strategies other surrounding departments are utilizing, and explore and implement ideas that could effectively fund the equipment and training our department requires; offsetting the amount of increased tax dollars needed from our residents.
Voters also cited crime as a concern. What do you think needs to be done to address this concern?
Crime is a valid concern that our community faces. With crime on the rise, this is a topic that needs to be addressed head on before it gets to be any worse. There are challenges that law enforcement has faced, so it is up to us, and the support of our community, to come together and address these concerns.
While illegal narcotics are a leading cause to many crimes in our area, as sheriff of Putnam County, I will support my deputies in a community policing approach to proactively address all types of crime in Putnam County and continue my support of the Trident Drug Task Force’s efforts in reducing narcotic crime.
Keeping an open line of communication with our community will generate more involvement in our efforts to reduce crime in Putnam County.
What do you bring to the table that your opponents do not?
In twenty-four years of law enforcement, I have gained skills and knowledge through on the job experiences and training, built relationships with other law enforcement agencies, led a team of highly experienced agents, and managed all aspects of the operation and administration of a specialized unit. My long law enforcement career, along with skills developed while contributing to our community over the past thirty years as firefighter, Village Trustee, youth sports coach, and not-for-profit board member demonstrate my leadership, commitment, strong work ethic, and ability to work well with others.
I have spent half of my law enforcement career directly serving the citizens of Putnam County. During which, I continued my law enforcement education and training; completing the University of Illinois Police Training Institute, Juvenile Officer Training, Reid Method of Interviewing, Active Shooter, FEMA Nations Response to Incident Command and multiple other law enforcement trainings. I have handled hundreds of calls for service and accidents, as well as, numerous arrests in the county. I was closely involved in the response, security and organization of cleanup efforts during the 2004 tornado. I engaged in community relations with talks to driver’s education students, community forums and protection of our children with Child ID. I effectively sought out and obtained grants for specialized equipment that was utilized by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, the Trident Drug Task Force, and local First Responders.
In 2010, I then expanded my experience with the opportunity to serve a broader part of our community by being placed on the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team (Trident). During my work with Trident, I was involved in well over 1,000 narcotic investigations leading to hundreds of felony arrests and convictions. I have worked closely with local, state and federal agencies, assisted in narcotic investigations in and outside of the state of Illinois, investigated cases with weapons, involved in murder for hire and sex crimes investigations, seizure of illicit funds and property, and as Commander managing and overseeing the daily activity of multiple highly experienced undercover narcotic agents and a nationally recognized highway traffic team. I was closely involved in a high-profile local murder investigation that led to the arrest and conviction of a subject. I have received additional education and training in Street Crimes, Narcotics Investigation, Hidden Assets in Vehicles/Commercial Vehicles, Tactical Training/Room Entry, Advanced Vehicle Contraband, Asset Forfeiture, and Supervision of Police Personnel. I also gained countless local, state and federal law enforcement contacts and relationships.
Giving to our community through volunteering and involvement has also provided me skills and leadership, the ability to make decision during high stress situations, managing and organizing a team, making decisions within a group and voting on matters in the best interest of a village.
The training and experiences gained over a lengthy law enforcement career, and the time I invested in the community puts me in a very good position to successfully achieve the duties required as the Sheriff of Putnam County.
If you could redo or reverse any one decision made by the sheriff in the last four years, what would it be and why?
I feel our sheriff made sound decisions which he believed were in the best interest of the citizens of Putnam County and the employees at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department. I am not one to second guess the decisions made by someone I have respected and supported in my nearly 24 years at the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.