For Will County Sheriff, Democratic: Girot

The three men vying in the Democratic primary for Will County sheriff are all longtime veterans of the sheriff's department. They all have similar goals and similar gripes with the current administration. We endorse Rich Girot of Braidwood over Ed Bradley of University Park and Pete Piazza of Lockport.

Piazza is a deputy sheriff of 24 years and former chief investigator for the county state's attorney's office. He has the experience, but we aren't confident in his ability to articulate a vision for the department.

We like Bradley's goals, which include focusing on domestic violence prevention. He's the highest ranking of the three, retiring in 2009 as a lieutenant after 21 years.

But Girot, a past mayor of Braidwood who faced Paul Kaupas in the 2006 general election, gets our nod. He is the only one of the three with administrative experience. We like the deputy sheriff's strong record of civic involvement, as well as his plan to streamline jobs, add officers in the traffic and patrol divisions and focus on partnerships.