Two Democrats and two Republicans are vying for a chance to succeed longtime Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley, who is retiring this year.
Democratic candidates are Sgt. Patrick Jones and Undersheriff Dan Jungles. Republican candidates are Deputies Justin Fialko and James “Jim” Reilly. Winners of their respective primaries March 17 will face each other in November for a 4-year term.
Kelley, a Democrat who has been sheriff since 2014, beat out Reilly in the past two elections.
Democratic primary
Jungles, 50, has been with the department for nearly 27 years and has served in numerous roles, including deputy, patrol, detective, sergeant, lieutenant, deputy chief of investigations and now undersheriff. He also was a founding member of the high-tech crime unit, director of Will-Grundy Major Crimes Task Force and attended the FBI National Academy.
He said he helped revamp the school resource officer’s program, which trained the officers in SWAT tactics and how to control bleeding and increased firearm qualifications. As part of the program, the department outfitted schools with tourniquets to help stop individuals from bleeding out if there ever were a shooting.
Jungles, of Channahon, said he was instrumental adding new dogs to the department, including dogs that specialize in comfort care, detecting drugs and detecting electronics such as those used in child pornography cases.
“One of my big things is trying to get as much grant money as we can to help supplement equipment, supplement programs,” Jungles said. “It’s something I’ve taken to and been successful. Millions of dollars of grants, millions of dollars in equipment have been obtained under my leadership.”
Jones, 50, is a 24-year department veteran and has held numerous positions including corrections, patrol division, crime scene investigation, SWAT operator, SWAT sniper and member of the crisis negotiation team. He holds the rank of sergeant and serves the east side of Joliet.
Jones, of Joliet, said his testimony helped convict Joseph Czuba, a Plainfield landlord who was found guilty last year in the stabbing death of 6-year-old Wadee Alfayoumi, a Palestinian American boy who was targeted because of his race and religion.
Jones said he knows firsthand what it like to have a negative encounter with police, relating a story from when he was walking home from church with his brother when they were 10 and 11. Police searched them for narcotics and struck his brother when he asked why.
“I know what it feels like to be policed badly,” Jones said. “I know what it is to be a good police officer.”
Jones said he has a vision to help communities be safer.
“I believe the sheriff should be off in the community going to community meetings and speaking to people so we can work on our problems together,” Jones said. “We don’t have that now.”
Both Jungles and Jones said they want to improve transparency and ensure body camera footage is available to the public within a short period of time.
Videos of officer-involved shootings need to be released, Jungles said.
“No matter what, if it’s good, bad or indifferent, that video should be released so the public can make their own determination,” Jungles said. “Because if you don’t release the video, people are going to create their own narrative … and that’s something I want to avoid.”
Attorneys don’t typically want videos released, but Jungles said he would take the decision out of their hands and create a policy that releases videos within a week.
Jungles said he would like to continue to update the department’s records management system so the public can learn what type of calls were handled as another way to improve transparency.
Jones said there’s often data from squad cameras, body cameras and drones that have to be downloaded, but the information has to be readily available within days to a week.
“We had a couple incidents where there were officer-involved shootings and the video and statements were not released,” Jones said. “I understand that we get the power from the people. And if those statements and videos are not released in an appropriate amount of time, we will lose that power and trust from the people.”
Jones said the department should add more mental health programs for its deputies, noting there has been three suicides among its members. He said he also wants to teach his staff how to interact with others in a mental crisis.
Jungles agreed mental health is important and wants to ensure law enforcement professionals have the proper tools to deal with stress.
Jungles’ platform also supports investing in new and innovative technology to help solve crimes, seeking grants to reduce taxpayer burden and exploring cost-saving solutions for inmate medical care, such as using an in-house nursing staff.
Jungles, a part of the Will County Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition since its inception, said many implemented programs have helped reduce opioid deaths. He said he wants to continue educating the public on the dangers of opioid addiction. He initiated a new opioid overdose emergency medication, Opvee, which is similar to Narcan, but is stronger, stays in the person’s system longer and requires fewer doses. He said it helps reduce the chances the sheriff’s office visits the same patient in the same day on overdose calls.
Jones said one of his main priorities is to initiate programs to reduce recidivism, noting inmates could learn productive skills such as painting or small engine repair so they can find employment and become productive citizens. He said the DuPage County Jail offers a similar program.
“These people are coming back into our community,” Jones said. “Do you want them to come back as a better criminal or as a rehabilitated person and a productive taxpayer and citizen?”
Jones said he also wants to address financial crimes on the elderly and reach out to retirement communities to teach them common tactics scammers use.
Jones said all deputies need to be familiar with the schools in Will County in the event they have to deal with active shooters. He said more drug prevention programs should be implemented in the schools.
Republican primary
On the Republican ticket, Fialko, 39, started his law enforcement career in 2007 with the Lemont Police Department, worked at the Stateville Correctional Facility and has been a deputy with the sheriff’s office since 2015. He said his mantra is to treat all inmates with dignity no matter the circumstances.
“How I was raised is to treat somebody how you would want your mom treated in any situation,” Fialko said. “While at Stateville, I think I am one of the only few who has never been sued. Inmates sue all the time. … I would never mess with any inmates and cause problems.”
Fialko, of New Lenox, is a certified juvenile officer and he’s taken courses on intercepting school violence.
His priorities include protecting children and the most vulnerable residents. He said child pornography as well as adults who try to meet up with children is a problem. He also said there are too many scams that target the elderly and noted sometimes seniors struggle with new technology that make them easy prey for scammers.
Fialko said he would like to reach out to retirement communities as well as forge positive relationships with children in schools so they are comfortable speaking with police.
Fialko said he supports transparency within the department, with the news media and the public.
“I don’t want to walk around things or try to hide anything,” he said. “I want to release any body cam footage as soon as possible for transparency.”
Another goal would be to start a video series that follows an officer so the public can see what their day is like. Fialko said he would like to implement an open door policy so the department’s employees can ask questions or seek guidance.
Fialko said he wants to continue to address the opioid epidemic by ensuring fentanyl test strips are widely available. He said he would work with the Will County Health Department to help people who are going through withdrawal find the assistance they need to stay sober.
“Unintentional overdoses is probably the biggest concern I have,” Fialko said. “I don’t want people dying from fentanyl.”
Reilly did not respond to multiple emails and voicemails for comment.
He told a forum sponsored by the Will County Republican Central Committee Feb. 12 that he has been involved in law enforcement for 23 years. He has a doctorate in criminal justice and local leadership.
Reilly said the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T Act has been a “disaster.”
“We have to work to get rid of the SAFE-T Act and reform what we can,” he said at the forum. “I’m so passionate about the failure of the SAFE-T Act, I’ve actually just written a book. It’s called ‘More Community Policing Less Politics.’ We have to get the politics out of policing and let law enforcement go back to doing their job.”
Reilly told the forum he would work on a countywide task force to deal with fraud and crimes against children and senior citizens.
He said he would support the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, though he acknowledged that under the 2017 Trust Act, local law enforcement is not allowed to work with ICE.
“We have no legal authority in the state of Illinois underneath the sheriff to conduct immigration law. That is strictly done by the federal government and ICE,” Reilly said at the forum. “That will stay that way. However, we will support ICE if they’re in our community doing their job and they need something that we are lawful and legally able to support them for, we will. We have to take those violent criminals off the street.”
Reilly’s website states his priorities include strengthening the connection between law enforcement and neighborhoods and implementing more transparency and accountability so the department’s actions are open to public scrutiny.
He would also like to expand opioid and mental health initiatives and support school safety programs, his website said.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter.
