Reilly Expected To Win Will Co. Sheriff: 'I Could Not Be Happier'

JOLIET, IL — Will County Sheriff's deputy Jim Reilly predicted that he will become the next Sheriff of Will County after unofficial vote totals for Will County had Reilly with 289 more votes than two-term Democrat incumbent, Sheriff Mike Kelley.

The voters had to determine whether Kelley should serve another four years as the Will County Sheriff. And for the second time in four years, Kelley was being challenged by one of his road patrol deputies, Reilly, the Republican.

Four years ago, in 2018, the Republican Will County Sheriff's deputy lost by 39,264 votes in the general election. But this summer deviated from Will County's voting history of four years ago.

After Will County reached 100 percent of all precincts reporting, Reilly told Joliet Patch that he wanted to congratulate Sheriff Mike Kelley on a fine career at the sheriff's office. Kelley has been with the agency since the late 1980s.

As for voting results, "I could not be happier," Reilly said. "I would like to thank the voters of Will County for their support and confidence in my campaign. Me and my new administration team are excited to work hard and gain the trust of the people. It was a long hard fought race."

With the polls closed, here's where vote totals stand:

Incumbent Mike Kelley (D): 110,135

Jim Reilly (R): 110,424

With 1oo percent of all precincts reporting

Candidates Make Their Case

In the June 28th Illinois Primary, Reilly captured 4,400 more votes than the two-term sheriff.

"He's lost the faith of the department and the law enforcement community throughout Will County," Reilly has told Joliet Patch. "I am very optimistic that we will be victorious in November. Mike Kelley has never publicly come out against (police reform) House Bill 3653. He's not around. We need a full-time sheriff who is engaged with our department and our communities. He's a part-time sheriff."

Reilly is a Republican from Wilmington, while Kelley is a Democrat from Lockport.

During an interview in October, Patch asked Reilly is he believes he's going to win the Nov. 8 election and defeat the two-term incumbent sheriff.

"I do," Reilly answered. "When you look at the Safe-T-Act, there's so much misinformation. You have Governor Pritzker out saying this is a good bill, even though they understand that changes have to be made."

Come January, under the Safe-T-Act, "we're going to release currently incarcerated violent offenders and law enforcement will be undermined, and law enforcement will be unable to hold violent offenders in our jail and these are the results of what liberal policies are doing," Reilly continued. "All we've got to do is look at Chicago and see violent crimes are significantly increasing, So for our current, Sheriff Mike Kelley, to not speak out publicly against this bill and to not join the lawsuit filed by (State's Attorney) Jim Glasgow, is going to risk the safety of our communities and the safety of our law enforcement officers.

"This is not acceptable for the No. 1 law enforcement officer in the county to not support the people that work for him and the people that live in our communities."

During a late October interview with Joliet Patch, Sheriff Kelley said his experience at the sheriff's office, having worked in practically every facet of the department during the past 35 years, sets him apart from his opponent.

Kelley also pointed out that Reilly quit the law enforcement profession many years ago as a Joliet police officer, only to return to the profession in recent times.

"I know the department inside and out, as far as every division of this department," Kelley remarked. "This is my only career. I didn't leave law enforcement for 16 years to start a business like he did. This has been my career since I was 21 years old."

Kelley said he truly believes the Will County Sheriff's Office, with the current management team in place, is now regarded as one of the best sheriff's agencies in the entire state of Illinois.

Kelley said he's extremely proud that the Will County Sheriff's Office has made it a top priority to help area schools become more safe and secure, taking many proactive safeguards including installing video surveillance technology and restrictive access doors for many local school buildings to hopefully prevent any school shootings from ever occurring.

When it comes to school shootings, Kelley said, "you can't be of the mindset that will never happen here."

The Will County Sheriff's Office is the second largest in the state, Kelley said, with about 650 employees, of which more than 600 are full-time.

Kelley said he was not going into Tuesday's election believing it will be an upset if he wins.

Even though Reilly captured more votes than he did in the June Illinois Primary, Kelley believes that Democrats did not have a strong a motivation to head to the polls in the summer primary.

Plus, back in 2014, Kelley said he received about 15,000 fewer votes in his Democrat primary, compared to Republican primary winner Ken Kaupas. The late Ken Kaupas received 20,698 Republican votes versus Kelley's total Democratic primary votes of 5,601. Total voter turnout during that primary election was Republicans with 41,171 versus Democrats at 13,996.

But when the general election happened in 2014, Kelley said he was the top vote-getter, and he's been the sheriff ever since.

"If you go by history," Kelley explained, "Reilly getting (4,000) more votes than me, to me has no impact or what's going to happen to me" on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

In the weeks leading up to the sheriff's election, the Citizens To Elect James Reilly sent out thousands of political mailers declaring, "Mike Kelley has FAILED to Protect Will County. Openly Supports the SAFE-T Act, Considers Sheriff to be a PART-TIME JOB, Has COST Will County Taxpayers Millions of Dollars, Supports Kim Foxx's PRO-CRIMINAL agenda.

Kelley said the Reilly campaign has continued to distort the truth about Kelley's positions with the Safe-T Act.

Kelley said there are several good provisions contained in the Safe-T-Act particularly when it comes to having more police accountability and oversight.

However, Kelley said he does not support releasing violent criminal offenders from the jails, and he also wants to fix the "no cash bail" provision.

Kelley said he began sending letters to Illinois lawmakers more than two years ago, urging state representatives and senators to address some of the points Kelley and his administration wanted to fix, including the no cash bail and pretrial detention.

"There are some good things in this bill and some bad things," Kelley explained to Patch.

The suggestion Kelley "Supports Kim Foxx's Pro-Criminal agenda," Kelley said, "is an absolute lie. I don't know who his administration is going to be."

When asked if Kelley believed he would win a third term as sheriff, Kelley answered, "I'm optimistically confident. It's an election and anything can happen. It's ultimately up to the citizens of Will County. I think voter turnout is going to be substantial. I think voters will be motivated to get out."

Kelley told Patch if he wins Tuesday's election against Reilly, this will probably be his last four-year term of office.

"That's safe to say that would more than likely be my last go at it," Kelley said, referring to serving a total of 12 years in office as Will County's sheriff.

According to his campaign website, since becoming the Will County Sheriff in 2014, Kelley has accomplished the following:

• Added five new drug detection canines
• Consolidated 50,000 pieces of evidence into one location
• Implemented programs to increase transparency and integrity of the department members
• Saved hundreds of thousands by bringing foreclosures in house and no longer paying these fees to a private law firm
• Modernized patrol scheduling to increase coverage without increasing costs
• Taking a proactive approach to the opioid crisis by implementing the Will County Sheriff's Office Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition
• Started a Drug Enforcement Interdiction Team
• Proactive approach to school violence by implementing a training program for the entire department in "active shooter response"

One of the key unanswered questions heading into Tuesday's sheriff's race concerns whether the voters of Will County will put stock into the political endorsements.

In the months leading up to the November election, Maurice Horn, president of the Will County Deputy Sheriff’s Union, which is Fraternal Order of Police Labor Council 738, announced that Reilly got 61 votes from Will County Sheriff's deputies, while Kelley got only 35 votes.

Horn's letter to Reilly s stated that "your continued commitment to the residents of Will County and law enforcement is something our board and membership stand behind."

Also, the Joliet Police Department Fraternal Order of Police Labor Committee notified Reilly it was also endorsing his candidacy, rather than supporting Sheriff Kelley's bid for a third term.

Joliet Police Officer John Perri, who is the secretary for the FOP, sent a letter notifying Reilly he has the Joliet Police Department union's support for his Nov. 8 election.

“It is an honor to be supported by the Will County Deputies Union,” Reilly remarked in his news release. “I am proud to serve alongside these fine men and women daily, and I humbly accept their endorsement. I look forward to working with the deputies union to protect the rights of our law enforcement officers while providing the communities of Will County with the level of service and protection they deserve."

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Sheriff Kelley Isn't Endorsed By Will County's Deputies

Sheriff Mike Kelley's Re-Election Faces Serious Trouble

Will County Sheriff's Race: Jackie's Pub Donates To Kelley Campaign