Former Spring Valley cop, drug agent announces bid for Bureau County sheriff

Edward Jauch has announced his candidacy for Bureau County sheriff.

Jauch is seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff, citing 34 years’ law enforcement experience with three years of private contracting work as a professional executive protection agent working with several Fortune 500 companies.

“My campaign slogan is, ‘Protecting our rights, defending our communities – a sheriff who stands for you,’” Jauch said in a news release for Wednesday distribution.

Michael Wittig, a Bureau County patrol officer, will also run for Bureau County sheriff, he announced in March.

The current Bureau County sheriff, Jim Reed, did not immediately return a request for comment on whether he plans to run for another term. The seat is up in November 2026 with primaries set for March.

Jauch started his career in 1988 as a correctional officer for the Illinois Department of Corrections in Pontiac. He became a police officer in 1990 and was hired by the Spring Valley Police Department in 1991. After years of working various assignments, including as an investigator, he was asked by the FBI to work undercover infiltrating an international criminal organization, resulting in numerous arrests.

Jauch was federally deputized by both the FBI as well as the U.S. Marshals. He then was placed into the Illinois State Police Drug Task Force until it was disbanded and subsequently became the deputy commander of Tri-County Drug Enforcement Narcotics Team focusing on heroin and other narcotic problems in the Illinois Valley.

At the same time he was promoted to the rank of sergeant by the Spring Valley Police Department. He also served as a commander in the La Salle County State’s Attorney Felony Enforcement Team.

“Throughout my law enforcement career, I was honored with numerous awards from the Spring Valley Police Department, FBI, Illinois State Police and other law enforcement agencies,” he said. “Maintaining my federal deputization since 2001, I was granted a Top Secret Security Clearance in 2006.”

His undercover work led Jauch to being featured in numerous TV shows such as History Channel’s “Gangland” series, a French documentary highlighting outlaw motorcycle gangs and a series by WGN America named “Outlaw Country.”

He retired from the Spring Valley Police Department in 2015, worked in the private sector for years, and returned to law enforcement in 2022 with the Earlville Police Department assigned to a task force that targets major drug trafficking organizations and violent cartels.

Jauch currently is serving his second term on the Spring Valley City Council as a First Ward alderman. He is married to the former Dana Strell, with whom he has a son, Gunnar, who will attend law school at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee.

His campaign account “We the people support Jauch for Sheriff” is on file with the Illinois State Board of Elections.