Hain To Become Next Kane County Sheriff

KANE COUNTY, IL — Republican Sheriff Don Kramer lost his bid for a second term in Kane County, losing to Democrat Ron Hain, a sergeant with the sheriff's office since 2003, according to unofficial Kane County vote totals.

Hain had roughly 10,000 more votes than his opponent, with 87,087 votes to Kramer's 77,678.

Kramer and Hain were at odds over numerous issues, including Kramer's handling of a hostage situation at Delnor Hospital on May 13, 2017. Hain has criticized Kramer or taking four days to reach out to the SWAT team member who was shot in the incident. The standoff began when 21-year-old Kane County inmate Tywon Salters was brought in for treatment after he reportedly ate part of his jail-issued sandal and ingested cleaning fluid. Salters was able to disarm a security guard and took two nurses hostage, sexually assaulting and torturing one of them before he was shot and killed. The incident sparked lawsuits as well as a review of Kane County protocols for hospitalized inmates.

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Hain recently touted his endorsement by the Illinois Nurses' Association in the wake of the Delnor incident.

Election results

With 291 of 291 precincts reporting:

• Kramer: 46.01%
• Hain: 51.58%

NOTE: Tuesday's results are unofficial and do not include provisional and late absentee ballots.

Meanwhile, Kramer has slammed Hain saying he "crossed the line" with roadside searches of motorists in which evidence was later ruled inadmissible, according to the Daily Herald. Kramer pointed to several legal settlements after Kane County was sued over weapons searches conducted by Hain on I-88 and I-90. Several suits alleged that Hain improperly extended traffic stops by issuing warnings to motorists while a deputy and drug-sniffing dog were en route to the scene. In his candidate profile with the Kane County Chronicle, Kramer wrote, "Prior to becoming sheriff, I was never sued and maintained a spotless personnel file. My opponent faced several lawsuits in Federal Court and cost the County of Kane more than a half million dollars in settlement costs." In some instances, evidence was ruled inadmissible due to Fourth Amendment search and seizure violations, Kramer said. Hain pointed out that he has never been disciplined or demoted.

Addressing Kane County's opioid epidemic was also a top issue for the candidates leading up to the March primary. Kramer has said education is key to preventing future overdoses, according to the Daily Herald. Hain thinks creating in-custody residential treatment locations that are run by the government for non-violent opioid addicts would help address the problem.

Kramer was elected in 2014 after losing out to Pat Perez in 2010 and retiring as a lieutenant with the Kane County Sheriff's Department in 2009. He says his goals include improvements to the Kane County Sheriff's Office's public safety division such as expansion of the regional SWAT time, automation of police records, a new fleet of all-wheel-drive cruisers and more. In the corrections division, Kramer says he aims to replace outdated video security equipment and electronics medical records, reduce the top-heavy command staff, and create programs such as parenting classes, mental health and addiction treatment and GED programs to reduce recidivism.

Hain also says he has plans for reducing recidivism, including a jobs program and in-custody training, in-custody addiction rehab, mental health care both in custody and with outside facilities and more. Hain also offers an "opioid eradication program" that includes a "heroin hotline" and a "cutting-edge rehabilitative approach to treat our addicted, incarcerated population."

More About Hain and Kramer

Read more about these candidates on their candidate pages:

• Ron Hain
• Don Kramer

Campaign photos: Ron Hain (left) and Donald Kramer