Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain declares victory over deputy challenger

Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain, a Democrat first elected sheriff in 2018, has declared victory over challenger Republican Jeff Bodin, who is a Kane County Sheriff’s deputy.

“It’s good to see the majority paid attention to what we’ve accomplished and the merits of our mission,” Hain said in a post on his campaign Facebook page.

According to unofficial results, Hain received 86,901 votes and Bodin received 65,508 votes. Bodin could not be reached for comment.

In a Shaw Media questionnaire, Hain talked about what his office has done to reduce the tax burden on residents.

“Over the last three years, we have consistently come in under budget, allowing the County to rollover the savings to balance its budget each year,” Hain said. “We have also shared our budget with other county offices (specifically the State’s Attorney) to aid them in adding needed personnel to maintain public safety without requesting additional funds from the county.”

He also talked about how his department’s new correctional services have re-entered former jail residents with continued addiction treatment, employment, and housing support on a case by case basis.

“This work has reduced recidivism, saved lives, and brought down countywide crime by 16% over the last three years,” Haine said. “Through these efforts, and the opening of the Kane County Sheriff’s University in Aurora, we continue to provide services to our marginalized communities which also build stronger relationships between them and law enforcement.”

Bodin said in a Shaw Media questionnaire that if elected, one of his priorities would be to be tougher on violent crimes while continuing and improving mental health, drug rehabilitation and work programs within the jail. He also would reorganize sworn staff to increase the patrol deputies from 6-7 at a time to 9-10 at any given time at no additional cost.

“This will allow quicker response times to calls for service in the unincorporated population of 65,000-75,000 residents and allow patrol deputies to assist other agencies more efficiently,” Bodin said.

Bodin also said he would be be more fiscally responsible than the current administration.

The Kane County Chronicle will be updating all election returns throughout the night. Check back frequently for updates.