James Mendrick, who has been DuPage County sheriff since late 2018, announced Thursday he intends to run for the Republican nomination for Illinois governor in 2026 and not seek a third term as sheriff of the state’s second-largest county.
In a post on his political campaign’s Facebook page, Mendrick played up his law-and-order credentials and noted his accomplishments as sheriff, writing, “This was a very hard decision to make.”
“I will bring safety, security and fairness to the city of Chicago and the rest of our State,” he wrote. “Our culture is being eliminated by senseless laws created by our current government that persecutes cops and empowers criminals. I’m here to stop the bleed.”
Mendrick, of Woodridge, becomes the first candidate to formally announce an intent to run in the 2026 governor’s contest, just shy of a year until the March 2026 primary. But he’s unlikely to be the only GOP contender.
Aaron Del Mar of Palatine, a member of the state GOP’s central committee and an unsuccessful 2022 candidate for lieutenant governor, has expressed interest in running, as has former state lawmaker Jeanne Ives of Wheaton. Ives, also a member of the GOP central committee, lost a 2018 primary bid for governor.
Two-term Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, a billionaire who has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to twice be elected to the state’s highest office, has yet to reveal if he intends to seek a third term.
Regardless of whether Pritzker seeks reelection, Mendrick faces the need to raise both his personal profile and campaign cash.
A member of the DuPage County sheriff’s office for about 30 years, including his six so far as sheriff, Mendrick is little-known outside law enforcement circles and county Republican politics. His sheriff’s campaign fund, the only one he currently has, began the year with just $87,377.
As sheriff, Mendrick oversees the DuPage County Jail. While touting his rehabilitation and drug treatment efforts at the jail, Mendrick also lashed out at the state’s SAFE-T Act, which eliminates cash bail for nonviolent offenders, and sanctuary laws that protect noncitizen immigrants by barring local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.
In his social media post declaring his plan to run for governor, Mendrick also wrote that in his years as sheriff he’s routinely questioned people and asked them if they think DuPage should be more like Chicago or if Chicago should “be more like DuPage County and assimilate our attributes.” He said “every single answer” he’s received has been DuPage.
“We are DuPage strong. Let’s be Illinois strong! What we have done can be done Statewide. Don’t let them put you to sleep with ‘it’s always been this way’ talk. We need a secure future for our State and we will make Chicago and Illinois safe again,” he wrote.
Mendrick has faced controversy as DuPage County, once a hotbed of suburban Republicanism, has seen its demographics increasingly shift toward Democrats who control the County Board. He was among several county sheriffs who said he would not enforce provisions of the state’s ban on the possession of certain high-powered semiautomatic weapons.
Last year, a downstate federal judge ruled the gun ban violated the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, but the law remains intact while the state contests the ruling before the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
At a February 2023 meeting of Wayne Township Republicans, Mendrick lashed out at the law as “garbage” and an example of Democratic ideology and “a furtherance of their socialist agenda.”
“This is a pattern, people. This is a pattern of taking away your freedom. It’s a pattern toward socialism. It’s a pattern of taking away everything that you know. Look at the economy. Look at what’s going on in your schools. Look what’s going on in law enforcement. I mean, is there a realm I am missing that they didn’t touch? Your entire way of life is changing,” Mendrick said to an audience of about 35 people.
“I don’t care if the Democrats hate me and the media hates me. Do you really think I’m gonna get their votes anyway? I mean, really. And this is the Republican problem. A lot will be, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry. Let me join with …’” he told the GOP group. “No. Absolutely not. Hold firm. Do your job. Be a Republican. And don’t waver to these people just because they’re crying and screaming at you.”
At the township meeting, Mendrick also condemned Democrats for “the way they’ve taken God out of society” and “erasing history.”
“I am going to say it right now. I’m a strong believer in God. I believe that’s how I get to where I go,” he said.
Chicago Tribune’s Jeremy Gorner contributed.
