Judith Lukas: 2024 candidate for DuPage County Coroner

Bio

Party: Democrat

Office Sought: DuPage County Coroner

City: Winfield

Age: 66

Occupation: Registered nurse

Previous offices held: Current Winfield Township Trustee since 2021; Precinct Committeeperson

Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

Deaths from suicide and substance use continue to rise. I have lost two family members to suicide and one to substance use. This is devastating to families and society. I am a registered nurse and I plan to bring my public health background to the office. I am developing a plan to educate middle and high school students on coping skills in an effort to reduce suicide and substance use deaths.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

My goal is implementing two new initiates. I want to establish a forensic laboratory in the coroner's office to process evidence for all law enforcement agencies in DuPage County. This will save money and expedite results. There is a backlog of DNA evidence from sexual assaults and violent crimes. We need to get justice for victims and their families and stop repeat offenders.

The Kane County Coroner's office was awarded nearly one million dollars for a forensic lab which was opened in partnership with Kane's sheriff and state's attorney. I welcome the DuPage County Sheriff and State's Attorney to join me in this endeavor. This will bring construction jobs to the county and high-tech jobs to run the lab.

My other goal is to reduce suicide and substance use deaths. I am developing a plan to educate our youth on coping skills. The plan will involve nursing and allied health students to lead the workshops. Every single person is important and people need to know that DuPage County cares.

What special experience and professional qualifications does a person need to be an effective coroner? What experiences and qualifications do you possess that will provide a foundation for your success in the office?

A coroner's duty is to manage the coroner's office. A medical background is helpful along with compassion in dealing with the decedent's family and friends. Managing the day-to-day operations include experience in human resources, budgeting, government contracts and strong working relationships with personnel.

I am a registered nurse and have compassionately worked with end-of-life issues my entire career. As a medical professional I have case managed up to 30 patients at a time. I worked for the U.S. Postal Service for 26 years. There I worked with budgets, purchasing, timekeeping, human resources, forecasting, government contracts, OSHA and managing employees. Both of these industries are heavily regulated. With this solid foundation, I am an excellent candidate for the position of coroner.

Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the coroner's office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expenses or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?

There is a high turnover of new deputy coroners. This makes it difficult to staff the night shift as there are limited resources available for night shift employees. One cause of the high turnover rate is the low starting wage. The starting wage needs to be increased to attract and retain quality employees. Retention would offset the expense of hiring and training new employees.

I would like to get fentanyl testing kits out in the public to check for fentanyl laced drugs. This will save lives. Opioid settlement money could fund fentanyl testing kits and help build the forensic lab. I would take advantage of grants and federal money toward building a forensics laboratory as well as explore other funding options.

Describe your position on transparency and public service in the coroner's office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?

As the coroner's office is a governmental entity, all freedom of information requests should be answered in a timely manner within constraints of Illinois law and family privacy. A needed improvement is the coroner's office notifying the public when a death occurs in police custody.

There have been three deaths in recent history at the DuPage County jail and a lot of questions surrounding the deaths. Not releasing this information leads to distrust. As coroner, I will release a press release when anyone in DuPage County dies in police custody. I will notify the county board when a person dies in the custody of DuPage County law enforcement. Transparency goes hand in hand with public trust. I plan to be transparent and a coroner that people can trust.

Please describe your philosophy about working with the media to get information to the public.

I plan to have a symbiotic relationship with the media as the media is a vital and responsible resource needed to get information to the public. My goal is to bring the office of coroner out of obscurity and into the public eye. I will rely on the press to help spread the message of new initiates the coroner’s office will start under my leadership as newly elected coroner.