Incumbent Defeats Deputy Medical Examiner in Kane County Coroner Race

Deputy Coroner Tao “Tom” Martinez lost the race against current Kane County Coroner, L. Robert Russell Tuesday night.

As an incumbent, Russell will be tasked with conducting professional, medicolegal death investigations including determining decedents’ causes and manners of death, identifying them, notifying their next-of-kin relatives, protecting their property and assisting survivors through advocacy group referrals, when necessary.

Russell was elected Kane County Coroner in 2012. He has also spent 20 years in law enforcement and is currently a sergeant for the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office, according to his campaign website.

He told The Daily Herald that his first step, if reelected, will be to make the coroner position his full-time career.

“My number one campaign issue is bringing respect and honor back to the coroner’s office,” he said, in a questionnaire. “I believe this can only be done with a coroner who makes this office his only priority. … Relationships with law enforcement and fire personnel, funeral homes, and advocacy groups have been very strained over the past decade.”

The South Elgin resident adds that he has already started conversations with key stakeholders in those sectors to bridge the existing gap.

Among Russell’s other priorities are updates to the county’s morgue, such as sharing resources with area hospitals; and establishing best practice guidelines that can be adopted locally, statewide and even nationally.

Photos courtesy of campaign Facebook pages for Tao Martinez (left) and Rob Russell (right).