I didn’t grow up with a safety net. By 16, I was helping to raise my younger brother and working full-time while finishing high school. I learned early on that when no one else shows up, you step in. That’s what I did then, and it’s what I’ve done ever since—on patrol, in a flooded New Orleans during Katrina, and in the life of a kid who just needs someone to listen.

Being there when it matters means showing up—in person, early, and consistently. Not just when the cameras are on, and not just when there’s a crisis.

As Sheriff, that principle drives action:

• I’ll rebuild staffing and morale by showing up for our deputies, correctional staff, and support staff—earning trust through presence, not speeches.

• I’ll lead from the front in the jail, where leadership has gone silent, morale has collapsed, and we’ve been forced to outsource inmates to McHenry County. Proactively filling vacancies piling up under Idelberg.

• I’ll make our communities safer not just by responding to crime, but by being visible, engaged, and connected to people before things go wrong.

People remember who was there for them. I will be.