In a Facebook conversation with Jean Utsinger Cattron, Kane County Sheriff Pat Perez had this to say about the coroner’s race. It’s certainly worth noting here: 
“Interesting how Marylou Kearns, the Coroner before Chuck West, was a Registered Nurse and there were no issues and it wasn’t touted as a law enforcement position. Now Mr. Russell embellishes his law enforcement experience and talks about doing death investigations.
Here are the facts. In cases of homicides, fatal traffic accidents and suspicious deaths, the police holding jurisdiction secure the scene, their detectives and evidence technicians process the scene and collect all evidence. It is our crime scene, and we do the investigations.
Only when we have completed our work do we turn the body over to the coroner, and the coroner transports the body to the morgue and obtains information from the detectives at the scene. It is then a medical examiner who conducts the autopsy and determines the time, cause and manner of death, ie suicide, homicide, drug overdose, etc.
Anyone following this race should question why Mr. Russell is so obsessed with thinking he has the same arrest powers as the Sheriff, and would take the Sheriff’s place if the Sheriff were to leave office. Under the Illinois Sheriff’s Statute, the duties are assumed by the Undersheriff or Chief Deputy of the Sheriff’s Office.
He also seems obsessed with thinking the Coroner is the only one who can arrest the Sheriff. Is he implying I break the law and need to be arrested? I’m quite certain that if I were to be caught driving under the influence along I-88 by a State Trooper, he would have the authority to execute the arrest. As a 21 year law enforcement officer and the Kane County Sheriff since 2006, I feel it is my responsibility to educate people about this subject.”
Please draw your own conclusions.
