DuPage County Sheriff announces run for Illinois Governor in 2026

DUPAGE COUNTY, Ill. (WAND) - The DuPage County Sheriff has announced he plans to run for Illinois Governor in 2026.

James Mendrick took to Facebook to announce he will not be running for a third term as DuPage County Sheriff in the election cycle of 2026 and instead, will be running for governor.

"This was a very hard decision to make," Mendrick said. "The legislation changes that have been imposed on Illinois from the governor's office are state laws that directly conflict with existing federal laws. The safety act stops us from rehabilitating people in our jails and the sanctuary city laws force federal authorities into our neighborhoods because these state laws deny them access to these criminals while they are in custody within a correctional facility. This is not right."

He continued, "My family and I have decided that we want our State back. We don’t like being fearful of crime that is randomly occurring now in our streets, homes and our retail stores due to soft on crime legislation. We don’t want to move out of Illinois like so much of our population. We really don’t. We love this state. That’s why I’ve decided to run for the Office of Governor of Illinois."

Mendrick said he plans to bring "safety, security and fairness to the city of Chicago and the rest of our State."

He has more than 30 years of law enforcement and correctional facility experience in the second largest county in Illinois.

Mendrick said the current Undersheriff, Eddie Moore, has his support and endorsement to be the next DuPage County Sheriff. "Undersheriff Moore has been with me from the beginning and has helped me create what the DuPage County Sheriff’s Office is today. I feel secure in my home County where I can run for Governor and still have a Sheriff that will keep us safe and secure."