Voters across Will County head to the polls on November 3 to decide a high-stakes race for county sheriff that has already upended local political power structures. This contest features Road Patrol Sgt. Patrick Jones representing the Democratic ticket against Republican challenger James “Jim” Reilly.
The path to the general election has been anything but conventional for local Democrats. Earlier in the election cycle, three-term Democratic Sheriff Mike Kelley urged voters to back his newly appointed undersheriff, Dan Jungles. Instead, primary voters decisively broke with the incumbent administration. Jones secured 59 percent of the Democratic primary vote, easily outpacing Jungles and his 40 percent share.
Jones officially launched his campaign in February 2025. Bringing 24 years of experience split between the county jail and road patrol, the sergeant staked his primary platform on changing how law enforcement interacts with the public. “I currently have 24 years of experience between the jail and being a police officer with the Will County Sheriff’s Office,” Jones noted in his campaign launch. “The reason for me running is that I believe that the squad car has become a barrier to the community, and we need more interaction with the community. I want to build trust through transparency.”
Will County Sheriff Deputy James Jim Reilly Runs as Republican Nominee
Standing in Jones’s path on November 3 is well-known Will County Sheriff’s Deputy James “Jim” Reilly, running as the Republican nominee. This marks Reilly’s third bid for the sheriff’s office. He is no stranger to tight races in the county. In the 2022 general election, Reilly held a lead over Kelley on election night, only to watch that advantage slip away as final mail-in ballots were counted and tabulated.
Now, with an open seat following the departure of the Kelley administration, both candidates present starkly different pathways for the future of Will County law enforcement. For voters casting their ballots, the choice centers on whether to embrace a shift toward grassroots patrol reforms under Jones or to swing the office to Reilly in his third bid for the badge.
