Will County sheriff’s candidates face off again for Nov. 8 election

Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley and Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Reilly will once again go head to head in the Nov. 8 election for the spot as the county’s top cop.

Both candidates last competed in the Nov. 6, 2018, election, with Kelley, a Democrat, defeating Reilly, the Republican challenger, and winning a second term.

At that time, Reilly and Kelley sparred over issues such as the opioid epidemic, alleged blocked promotions in the sheriff’s office, the homicide clearance rate and the 2017 unsolved homicide of Preston Heights toddler Sema’j Crosby.

Since then, issues concerning law enforcement itself have taken center stage, specifically with the criminal justice reform law known as the SAFE-T Act.

Reilly has repeatedly criticized Kelley over the SAFE-T Act, which he said has emboldened criminals and undermined the authority of law enforcement.

“Our current sheriff has remained silent as his Springfield colleagues allow this legislation to stand,” Reilly said in a written statement.

In response, Kelley said Reilly has lied about what he’s done in response to the SAFE-T Act. He said he’s worked with lawmakers to amend the SAFE-T Act with trailer bills and had previously urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to veto the act.

“Basically what he’s saying is because I’m not publicly on Facebook telling everybody I hate [the SAFE-T Act], that I’m not doing anything. It’s just a flat out lie,” Kelley said in a phone interview.

Besides meeting with lawmakers, Kelley said he’s been working with the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, circuit clerk’s office and chief judge’s office to prepare for Jan. 1, when the elimination of cash bail is anticipated to go into effect.

Kelley said since he’s been elected, his office has established a successful drug interdiction team and reinstated and expanded the K-9 division.

For his third term, Kelley said he wants to improve recruitment and retention of correctional officers at the Will County jail, replenish the sheriff’s office fleet with newer vehicles and continue to work on obtaining funding for substance abuse prevention initiatives.

If elected, Reilly said he wants his administration to select the most qualified people for upper management, reduce costs and increase efficiencies in the sheriff’s office, use a plainclothes tactical unit to target high-crime areas and implement an intelligence database.

“We need our department members out in the community, identifying high-crime areas and working intelligently to reduce unwanted criminal behaviors,” Reilly said.

Both candidates have promised to improve safety and security for schools if elected.

Reilly said Kelley treats his public office as a part-time job.

“This has resulted in low morale and a lack of general direction within the sheriff’s department,” Reilly said.

Kelley said Reilly’s claim is “made up.”

“That’s made up. I don’t know what he means by part time,” Kelley said.

He said there’s only a small percentage of people at the sheriff’s office who are not happy.

“Most of those are the people I had to discipline for one reason or another,” Kelley said.