Election 2024: McHenry County coroner’s race a contrast between chiropractor incumbent and registered nurse

It’s far down-ballot from the race for president and Congress, but McHenry County voters are also choosing who will lead the coroner’s office.

Incumbent coroner Michael Rein, a Republican, is running for reelection to a second term. He faces Democrat Chris Kalapodis, who party officials slated to run for the seat after the March primary elections.

Kalapodis, a 33-year-old Lake in the Hills Democrat, is making his first run for public office, though he also was elected precinct committeeperson last fall. He is a registered nurse and works at Ascension St. Joseph Hospital in Elgin.

Rein, 60, a chiropractor who has run the office for four years, said he decided to seek another term because “I think there’s more things to be done.”

Some of the projects that Rein, who lives in Woodstock, cited include a “complete total remodel and upgrade” of the morgue. The coroner’s office is also working on upgrading the mass disaster casualty plan, Rein said, adding that will include the addition for the coroner’s office of a trailer with equipment and supplies needed for mass casualty scenes. He said his office hopefully will “never have to use it.”

Rein also said the coroner’s office had two vehicles in its fleet when he started and staff members were having to take their personal vehicles out to scenes. Now, Rein said, the office has four vehicles, none of which were paid for by property taxes.

In his first term, Rein also got the coroner’s office accredited, making it the third county in the state to do so. The coroner’s office was accredited by the International Association of Coroners and Medical Examiners last year, according to a county news release.

“Modernizing the Coroner’s Office has been a top priority for me since before I was even elected,” Rein said in the release. “My office is often called to the most heart-wrenching of cases, and I am proud that we can better serve grieving families during their darkest hours and support justice for the entire community.”

Rein said in the news release that the Department of Justice awarded the office a grant that helped make accreditation possible. He said it sets a higher standard for the office.

Kalapodis, Rein’s opponent, said he was spurred to run in part because of the dispute over how the McHenry County Coroner’s Office counted COVID-19 deaths.

Rein was not counting COVID-19 deaths of McHenry County residents who died outside the county. That was in contrast with how the McHenry County Department of Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health were reporting COVID-19 deaths.

The health department was counting any McHenry County resident who died of COVID-19, even if they died outside the county. Likewise, the health department was not counting COVID-19 deaths in the county if the person who died was not a McHenry County resident.

Kalapodis, Rein’s Democratic opponent, said he was upset by Rein’s counting method.

“I worked in the ICU during COVID,” Kalapodis said, adding it’s a personal topic for him.

Earlier this year, Kalapodis saw Rein was then unopposed for reelection. Kalapodis said he was interested in mounting a challenge and talked with Democratic Party officials, followed by his slating after the spring primary election.

“I think McHenry [County] deserves better,” Kalapodis said.

“I’m a health care worker. I think I’m qualified for this,” Kalapodis said.

Some of Kalapodis’ top priorities include creating a live data dashboard that tracks overdoses, suicides and gun violence in the community. He also wants to expand the coroner’s grief and mental health supports and provide more resources online, such as providing referrals to crisis counseling for those who’ve lost a loved one to suicide.

Kalapodis said his goal is “to actually improve public health and safety” in the county.

Kalapodis has also sought to campaign with a side of giving back to the community. He hosted a blood drive at Spirit Water Brewery in Cary Oct. 19. Kalapodis said he’s given blood before but was hosting a blood drive for the first time. The drive was marketed as hosted by Kalapodis’ campaign and Together We Stand McHenry County, but Kalapodis stressed it was about the community and not campaigning. He said he wanted to be involved the community.

”A blood drive is what we need,” Kalapodis said.

As for Rein, organ donation was another area the incumbent touted, saying his office has achieved a 40% donation rate.

Additionally, Rein said, his office has digitized all files going as far back as 1877 and up to 2010 during his term. Anything after 2010 was already digitized.

Rein is also working on getting a dashboard up with statistics such as overdoses, including by ZIP code, similar to other dashboards the county has rolled out. He said the department started talking about the dashboard earlier this year and hopes to have it up and running by Jan. 1.

Rein said he thought his office is “one of the top” coroners’ offices in the state.

McHenry County court records show Kalapodis was charged with a DUI in July 2020, during the pandemic. When asked about the DUI, Kalapodis said it was “probably the most regrettable choice” of his life. He said he crashed into a tree and called the authorities on himself.

The court records show that the charge for the misdemeanor offense was ultimately not entered against Kalapodis because he successfully completed one year of supervision and paid the fines he incurred. Kalapodis said he doesn’t drink if he’s outside of the house.

A review of McHenry County court records shows Rein has some seatbelt and speeding citations over the years, with the last violation being a speeding ticket in 2014.