A heated race for Sangamon County sheriff

A retired Sangamon County deputy challenging incumbent Paula Crouch to become the Republican candidate in this year’s race for sheriff says Crouch and her allies are using lies and distortions to sway voters as the March 17 primary approaches.

David Timm is pushing back against an onslaught of radio, print and video advertisements paid for by Crouch’s campaign and the Sangamon County Republican Central Committee, which has endorsed her.

The ads highlight Crouch’s 30 years of law-enforcement experience, mostly at the Springfield Police Department. Radio ads vouching for Crouch, 52, feature prominent Republicans, including Coroner Jim Allmon, State’s Attorney John Milhiser, Treasurer Joe Aiello, Circuit Clerk Joe Roesch, state Rep. Mike Coffey and former sheriffs Neil Williamson and Jack Campbell.

Various ads also attack Timm, 51, for a misdemeanor conviction 33 years ago, call him “dangerous,” say he has a “record of shame,” question his trustworthiness and contain a list of alleged acts of misconduct while he was a deputy.

Timm, who retired from the sheriff’s office in January 2025 after a 25½-year career there, said he knew his campaign to challenge a candidate backed by the local Republican establishment would be “intense.”

“But to come out and tell blatant lies about me – I didn’t expect them to go down that road since I am a Republican and it’s my own party,” he told Illinois Times. “What are they so afraid of? What it boils down to is they know that if I win, I’ll be the voice – not theirs – and they won’t be able to control the outcome anymore.”

Retired State Journal-Register political reporter Bernard Schoenburg said the type of “full-court press” by the Sangamon County GOP in support of Crouch hasn’t happened in a local race since the GOP’s successful effort to get Karen Hasara elected Springfield mayor in 1995.

At that time, Hasara defeated Mike Curran, a former Democratic state representative, to become mayor, which is an officially nonpartisan position.

“I do think it is very interesting that the party is sending out so many people to promote their appointed sheriff in her race,” Schoenburg said. “It just shows maybe they’re scared that their candidate could lose. It shows a certain level of fear that maybe her opponent is gaining traction.”

Timm, whose ads tout his experience and expertise and don’t criticize Crouch’s record or her tenure at the Springfield department, sent a March 2 “cease and desist” letter to the county Republican Central Committee – with a copy forwarded to Crouch.

Timm’s letter said the committee’s ads are “filled with half-truths and lies.” The letter demanded that the ads be stopped and that inaccuracies be acknowledged.

Sangamon County Republican chairperson Dianne Barghouti Hardwick sent Illinois Times 10 pages of documentation on March 10 backing up statements in the committee’s ads. Hardwick said nothing will be retracted and added, “We have serious concerns about David Timm’s record, temperament, complete lack of leadership experience and his ability to win in the general election in November. If voters are not fully informed about his record now, Democrats will certainly highlight it this fall.”

Crouch, whose own campaign ads repeat some information in the GOP committee’s ads, said she, too, stands behind the content of all the ads. She said everything can be backed up by court records or information in Timm’s personnel file.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s a negative campaign,” Crouch said. “When you’re posting factual information, it’s not mudslinging. … The community has the right to know the background as far as the work history of their sheriff.”

The winner of the Republican primary will have a good chance of being elected sheriff in November. Sangamon County voters haven’t elected a Democratic sheriff since 1974, and the only sheriff candidate in the Democratic primary this year, Marc Bell, dropped out of the race in February.

The local Democratic Party, through a vote of precinct committeepersons, still can select a Democratic nominee for the Nov. 3 general election by June 1.

Crouch’s proposed appointment by County Board Chair Andy Van Meter to head the sheriff’s office was ratified by the GOP-controlled board in September after Campbell’s sudden retirement in the middle of his four-year term. Critics of the sheriff’s office had called for Campbell’s resignation in the wake of the fatal 2024 shooting of Sonya Massey by former sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, who was hired by Campbell.

Crouch and Timm are running for the GOP nomination in advance of the November general election, for a four-year term in a job that pays $175,460 per year.

Campaign contributions to Timm were outpacing Crouch’s campaign at the end of 2025, with Timm’s campaign reporting $84,039 in receipts to Crouch’s $50,063. But as of March 10, Crouch has received $43,000 in contributions, while Timm has received $12,000, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Donations to Crouch in 2026 included $13,300 from Aiello; $4,885 from County Auditor Andy Goleman, a Republican; $2,000 from Campbell; $18,000 from the county GOP central committee and $25,000 from the Sangamon County Republican Foundation.

Disagreements about claims made in the ads about David Timm

– Timm acknowledged he was arrested in Mason County in 1993, when he was 18, for felony burglary and theft. But he said the ads fail to note that the felony charges didn’t stick and that he pleaded guilty to an amended charge of criminal trespass to a motor vehicle – a misdemeanor.

When asked about the wording on the ad, Crouch, who said she has never been charged with a crime and never suspended from work, said, “Just because he pled doesn’t mean that he didn’t commit the felony, right? … because that was the crime that was committed, allegedly.”

– The ads say he was “fired” in 2008 by former sheriff Williamson, but many of the ads don’t say the firing was overturned in 2009 after an appeal by the FOP Labor Council.

– Timm said he never was suspended for filing false police reports, though the ads said he was suspended for two days in 2023. The documentation provided by Hardwick made it appear that the suspension happened, but an email supplied by Timm quoted his union representative as saying the allegation would be dropped after negotiations with management.

The email also said Timm would receive a written reprimand for deficient work performance in connection with a patrol situation in Illiopolis and that the false-police-reports allegation would be considered “unfounded.”

 – Ads say Timm was “counseled for making sexual derogatory remarks” in 2007. But Timm said he never made the alleged derogatory remarks, and the sheriff’s office never initiated any disciplinary proceedings. The GOP documentation says Timm was counseled by a lieutenant based on a complaint filed by a woman. Timm said he never was counseled.

– The ads said Timm was “reported” for a “road rage incident” in 2002. Timm noted that even the GOP documentation said the allegation was based on a complaint filed by a member of the public involving an off-duty exchange. The complaint, which he denied, never was substantiated or part of any disciplinary proceeding, he said.

– The ads said Timm was “cited” in 2000 for “abuse of department equipment.” But Timm said the so-called abuse – making $60 worth of long-distance calls that he later paid for – never was part of any disciplinary action.