Sergeant announces bid to be Kane County sheriff
Lt. Willie Mayes Sr. is also seeking the Democratic nomination for Kane County sheriff.
Kane County sheriff's Sgt. Ron Hain believes the population of the Kane County jail could be significantly reduced.
He also believes the department should step up efforts to stop trafficking of drugs, particularly heroin.
Hain formally announced Thursday he's running to be the Democratic Party's nominee for Kane County sheriff.
Hain, who lives in Sugar Grove, has worked for the sheriff's office since 2003.
"Throughout my career as a sheriff's deputy, I have always enjoyed seeking out the criminal activity in our community," Hain said.
He said if elected, he would reinstate a program he started in 2007 for seeking out drug traffickers and seizing their property.
Hain proposes establishing a "heroin hotline" for people seeking information about substance abuse treatment or for people to leave anonymous tips about drug sales.
Hain also said he would find a way to "reinvent the contract" with the Burlington and Kaneland school districts, so the schools don't have to pay the full cost of having a deputy stationed in each district's high school.
And he wants more support services at the jail, to break the cycle of people committing crimes again and again.
Drug work
Hain is the director of marketing for Relentless LLC, a police-training firm doing business as Desert Snow. He was national director of its Black Asphalt Electronic Networking System for two years. The firm has gained national attention for its practices, including sharing information about drug trafficking suspects on the private Black Asphalt system, to track them from state to state.
Hain also self-published "In Roads: A Working Solution to America's War on Drugs."
He's been the Kane County Deputy of the Year twice and boasts of seizing at least 4,000 pounds of cannabis, 220 pounds of cocaine and heroin, 7 pounds of methamphetamine, 30 vehicles modified to hide contraband, and $3 million in drug money.
But recently, Kane County judges ruled that a strip search of a defendant was illegal and twice that Hain illegally prolonged traffic stops that resulted in drug charges.
"I have made over 300 major criminal arrests; I have had less than five thrown out. That's a pretty good batting average," Hain said Thursday.
Other points
Hain said the patrol division should be decentralized. He wants a north division and a south division, with deputies assigned to specific townships based on population and crime statistics.
And he wants to establish an internship program with Waubonsee and Elgin community colleges.
Hain registered a campaign committee with the state election board in October and established a Facebook page for the campaign late last year.
Sheriff Donald Kramer, a Republican, said he has not decided if he will seek re-election.
Kane County Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Tindall is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the Republican nomination Monday.
Kane County Sheriff's Lt. Willie Mayes Sr. is also running. He lost to Kramer in 2014. The Democrat started his campaign May 12.