Will County candidates file for 2022 countywide elections

The deadline for those seeking to get on the ballot for the 2022 primary election has passed, with seemingly no competitive Will County primary contests in countywide races.

Candidates had to file their petitions over the past week for the June 28 Illinois primary. This year’s primary election is about three months later than in years past because of the delay in gathering 2020 census data and redrawing legislative districts.

While Monday was the deadline for candidates to file their petitions, anyone can file an objection to a petition over the next week in an effort to knock a candidate off the ballot.

Voters in Will County will be able to weigh in on multiple races for county positions, as well as state and federal offices.

The countywide elected offices are the same that were on the ballot in 2018, when Democrats swept Will County races.

Here’s a look at the candidates who filed for countywide offices:

County Sheriff

Incumbent Mike Kelley, a Democrat, is seeking his third term in office this year. He was first elected in 2014 and won a second term in 2018.

Kelley oversees a sheriff’s department with more than 200 officers that is responsible for unincorporated parts of the county and the county jail in downtown Joliet. During his tenure, the department has seen the construction of a new public safety complex and the purchase of new body cameras for its deputies.

Kelley’s general election opponent in 2018, Jim Reilly, also filed to run again as a Republican. The Wilmington resident is a Will County sheriff’s deputy, has a doctorate in criminal justice and teaches at the University of St. Francis in Joliet.

In 2018, Kelley defeated Reilly by a 58% to 42% margin.

County Clerk

The sitting county clerk, Democrat Lauren Staley Ferry, is seeking her second term in office after being elected in 2018.

The clerk’s office is the county’s chief election authority and maintains birth, marriage, death and other vital records, among other services.

During her first term, Staley Ferry’s office had to adjust to a historic increase in demand for mail-in voting because the COVID-19 pandemic caused fewer people to opt to vote in person. Her office successfully purchased new equipment to automate the process for handling mail-in voting. She also pushed to expand early-voting sites throughout the county.

In 2018, Staley Ferry defeated former Lockport Township Clerk Denise Mushro Rumchak in the Democratic primary. That was despite The Herald-News reporting that Staley Ferry had admitted to an investigator in 2002 that she filled out a check from her then-employer in Arizona and deposited it into her account. Staley Ferry went on to defeat Republican Laurie McPhillips in the 2018 general election.

Republican Gretchen Fritz of Plainfield is forgoing her seat on the Will County Board to run for the GOP nomination for clerk. She would eventually challenge Staley Ferry in the general election this fall.

Fritz was first elected to the Will County Board in 2014. She also owns a proofreading business.

County Treasurer

Democratic incumbent Tim Brophy is running for his second term for the office to which he was first elected in 2018.

The treasurer’s office is responsible for securing county tax dollars and manages property taxes each year.

Brophy, a former Joliet City Council member, defeated then-incumbent Steve Weber, a Republican, in the 2018 election.

This year, Raj Pillai filed to run for the GOP nomination to challenge Brophy.

Pillai is a U.S. Navy veteran, a certified public accountant, and former financial auditor. He ran unsuccessfully last year for a seat on the Plainfield School District 202 Board and was a vocal opponent of measures the state took to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in schools.

Regional Superintendent of Schools

Incumbent Shawn Walsh, a Democrat, is seeking reelection to the post he’s held since being appointed in 2013.

Walsh oversees the Regional Office of Education, which serves as an intermediate agency between the Illinois State Board of Education and local school districts.

Republican Elizabeth Caparelli-Ruff filed her petition to challenge Walsh.

For information on county elections, visit willcountyclerk.gov. Registered voters in Will County will be able to order a mail-in ballot.