Voters Prepare for Election Day

Sangamon County voters have just a few days left to cast an early ballot before the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting runs from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29, and Friday, Oct. 30. Over the final weekend, voters can cast ballots from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, and Sunday, Nov. 1. The last day of early voting is Monday, Nov. 2, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters with questions about where to vote or what is on their ballot can contact the Sangamon County Clerk’s Office.

Those heading to the polls will find several high-profile races on the ballot this year. At the top of the ticket, Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat first elected in 2018, is seeking a third term in a rematch against Republican Darren Bailey, a farmer and former state senator from Clay County. Pritzker defeated Bailey by about 12 points in 2022. Bailey later ran for Congress in 2024, losing the Republican primary in the 12th Congressional District to U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, before launching his second campaign for governor. He won this year’s Republican primary with about 53 percent of the vote against three challengers, while Pritzker ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination. Both candidates have new running mates. Pritzker is running with former Deputy Gov. Christian Mitchell, who replaces Stratton on the ticket, and Bailey is running with Cook County Republican Party Chairman Aaron Del Mar. Pritzker has centered his campaign on affordability and public safety, while Bailey has focused on high taxes, the state’s economy and a plan to cut government spending.

Voters will also choose a new U.S. senator for the first time in nearly three decades, as Dick Durbin retires from the seat he has held since 1997. Republican Don Tracy, a Springfield attorney, faces Democratic Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Tracy is senior counsel at the Springfield law firm Brown, Hay & Stephens, led the Illinois Republican Party from 2021 to 2024 and previously chaired the Illinois Gaming Board. He was raised in Mount Sterling and raised his own family in Springfield, and he has said his top priority in Washington would be lowering the cost of living for working families. Stratton has served as lieutenant governor under Pritzker since 2019 and won the Democratic nomination in March with the governor’s backing, defeating two sitting members of Congress in the primary.

Locally, the most closely watched contest is for Sangamon County Sheriff. Republican Sheriff Paula Crouch, who has led the office since September 2024, is running for her first full four-year term against Democrat Marc Bell of Springfield, a retired Illinois State Police master sergeant.

Bell, 62, spent his law enforcement career with the Illinois State Police, where he rose to the rank of master sergeant and served as a school safety officer. He also served on the Illinois Gaming Board and currently sits on the City of Springfield’s Police Community Review Commission. Bell was the only Democrat on the March primary ballot for sheriff but announced in February that he was ending his campaign, citing a lack of financial support from the Sangamon County Democratic Party. After receiving nearly 12,000 votes in the primary, he reentered the race. In July, David Timm, the retired sheriff’s deputy who lost to Crouch in the Republican primary, announced his support for Bell.

Crouch was appointed by the Sangamon County Board on Sept. 18, 2024, after the retirement of former Sheriff Jack Campbell. She was chosen from a field of 15 applicants following a review by an independent committee formed by the county, and she became the first woman to serve as sheriff in Sangamon County. At the time of her appointment, she said her first priority would be reviewing the office’s hiring practices and making sure the jail, court security and patrol divisions were working together.

Much of her work over the past two years has centered on training. Every deputy in the office has completed de-escalation training at the Macon County Law Enforcement Training Center in Decatur, with the cost covered by a grant from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Crouch has also moved more of the office’s training from online sessions to in-person instruction and arranged for deputies to train alongside Springfield police officers. Jail staff have received updated training on the use of tasers, and deputies and correctional officers have taken part in a wellness program that includes mental health training and support.

The office has also changed how it screens new hires. Background checks now include visits by investigators to the departments where applicants previously worked, giving the office a fuller picture of a candidate’s history before a hiring decision is made. Crouch has said she wants to raise pay for deputies and correctional officers to help the office recruit and keep qualified staff, and she has worked to increase the presence of deputies in local schools and neighborhoods. She has also discussed partnering with local health care providers to improve access to mental health services for both inmates and staff.

Crouch won the Republican nomination in the March 17 primary and has been endorsed by former Sheriff Neil Williamson and Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser.

Her career in public safety spans nearly 30 years. She began as a Sangamon County 911 dispatcher before joining the Springfield Police Department in 1999, where she served as a neighborhood patrol officer, a detective and the coordinator of Sangamon/Menard County Crime Stoppers. She received the William Herndon Award for plainclothes detective in 2005, was named Sangamon County Advocate of the Year in 2012 and received the American Red Cross Hero Award for Public Service in 2013. After retiring from the department as a lieutenant in 2023, she served as chief deputy of administration for the Sangamon County Circuit Clerk’s Office until her appointment as sheriff. A lifelong Sangamon County resident and graduate of Auburn High School, Crouch lives in rural Williams Township with her husband and two children.

The sheriff’s office employs more than 200 people, including staff at the county jail, and operates on an annual budget of about $25.5 million. A Democrat has not been elected sheriff in Sangamon County since 1974.

Further down the ballot, voters in the 48th State Senate District will choose between incumbent Democrat Doris Turner of Springfield and Republican Frank Lesko. Turner has represented the district, which covers parts of Sangamon, Christian and Macon counties, since 2021. Lesko is the current Sangamon County Recorder and previously served as Springfield city clerk and as a Springfield alderman.

Four Sangamon County Board seats are also contested this year. In District 7, Republican Richard King faces Democrat Tara Bergschneider. In District 12, Republican Joel Oschwald is challenging incumbent Democrat Sheila Feipel, and in District 21, Republican Connie Sebok is challenging incumbent Democrat Reggie Guyton. Both the District 12 and District 21 races are special elections for two-year terms. In District 23, incumbent Democrat Tony DelGiorno faces write-in candidate Patricia Hayes.