Sheriff candidates both promise change

Sangamon County voters haven’t elected a Democrat as sheriff since 1974, but Marc Bell says the public’s longing for change at the local level, combined with dissatisfaction with Republicans nationally, may help him push the political pendulum in a new direction Nov. 3.

“Everybody’s got to vote,” said Bell, a 62-year-old Democrat, Springfield resident and retired Illinois State Police master sergeant. He is challenging incumbent Sheriff Paula Crouch, a Republican, in Crouch’s bid for her first elected four-year term in a job that pays $182,654 a year.

The appointment of Crouch, 53, to the county’s top law enforcement job by Republican County Board Chair Andy Van Meter was ratified in September 2024 by the GOP-controlled County Board. Crouch replaced former sheriff Jack Campbell, also a Republican.

 Campbell retired unexpectedly amid calls for his resignation because of his decision in 2023 to hire former deputy Sean Grayson, 32, a white man with a record of questionable conduct at other downstate police departments and the fiancé of a retired deputy’s daughter. 

Grayson’s fatal shooting of an unarmed Black woman, Sonya Massey, 36, inside her Woodside Township home in July 2024 brought nationwide media attention to the Springfield metropolitan community, which has dealt with racial tensions for decades.

Massey’s death renewed scrutiny on the 210-person sheriff’s department, which has a history that includes controversial deaths of members of the public both inside and outside the county jail in Springfield.

“If you want change and are tired of the status quo and the things that have been going on, you know, the negative things at the county jail … then they should vote for me,” Bell told Illinois Times. 

He said he would follow the laws and the county’s policies “to the letter” and reverse what he called the sheriff’s office’s history of “nepotism and unethical practices” to “rebuild the trust between law enforcement and the community.”

Crouch, on the other hand, said she already has used her “outsider” perspective and experience as a retired Springfield Police Department lieutenant to bring change.

“The public should vote for me because I’ve proven that my leadership skills are taking the sheriff’s office into the direction that they’ve been asking for, and I’ve already shown success,” she said. 

She said she has taken steps to make background checks of employees more thorough, reduced employee turnover and increased training on de-escalation skills and the use of tasers.

Crouch said she also has improved operations at the jail, reduced potential suicide risks in cells and added nurses to provide better healthcare to inmates. She added that she has supported increases in pay for deputies, correctional officers and courthouse security officers, and worked hard on community outreach.

Crouch, whose candidacy has been endorsed by Campbell, former sheriff Neil Williamson and other prominent local Republicans, didn’t appear to agree with Bell’s description of the sheriff’s office history.

“I don’t necessarily think that you can lump it all in one category,” Crouch told Illinois Times.

“I mean, I think that sometimes people look at nepotism and they think they’re referring to the referrals and references,” she said. “Everybody fills out a job application and you put a reference on it, and if I’m friends with Dean Olsen and he’s listed as a reference, I’m going to call Dean Olsen and say, ‘What do you think about this guy?’ So I guess some of it’s interpretation. I can’t tell you it’s never happened. What I can tell you is during the two years I’ve been sheriff, it hasn’t happened.”

Bell, who is Black, said he decided to run for sheriff after being approached by local residents after Massey’s death. Bell previously ran for state representative against Republican Mike Murphy. 

Bell announced in February that he was withdrawing as the Democratic candidate because of a lack of financial support from the Democratic Party, then later changed his mind.

“We had some administrative issues,” Bell said of his relationship with Democratic leaders. “We mended our fences, and the family’s back together.”

If elected as the county’s first Black sheriff, he said his race could help to smooth relations with Black residents and the sheriff’s department. But he said his candidacy is “really not about me. This is about making the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office the best it can be for the citizens and for the employees.”

Bell was born and raised in Chicago. He moved to Springfield for his job almost 30 years ago. He is separated from his wife and has three daughters and four grandsons. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Chicago State University.

Crouch was born in Springfield and raised in Sangamon County. She is married to retired Riverton police chief Robert Crouch and has two sons. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Benedictine University and a master’s in law enforcement and justice administration from Western Illinois University.

Crouch’s campaign is on pace to spend about one-fourth of the amount in the general election than for the primary election campaign. Crouch scored an 8.4-percentage-point victory in March against fellow Republican David Timm. Her campaign spent more than $139,000 to Timm’s $86,000.

The primary campaign included criticism of Timm’s background, disciplinary history and temperament by Crouch and the Sangamon County Republican Committee, which endorsed Crouch over Timm. Timm, 51, retired as a sheriff’s deputy in 2025, said he was the target of lies and distortions.

Timm has thrown his support to Bell in the general election, and Timm said he recently used leftover campaign funds to send a mass mailing to Republican-leaning voters that touted the “common ground” between the two men.

In the mailer, Timm tells Republicans that Bell brings “decades of proven law enforcement experience” and deserves support even if it “may mean marking a box you have never marked before.”

Voter dissatisfaction at the national level involving everything from gasoline prices to inflation could give a Democrat running for sheriff the best possible chance for beating a Republican in Sangamon County, Timm and Bell said.

When asked about the rumor that Bell would hire Timm back to the sheriff’s office to become one of his top deputies if elected, Bell said, “I’m exploring all my options.” Timm said he “would 100% be open” to returning.

Crouch said she wants to finish the job she started and stands a “99.9% chance of being elected.”  

This article appears in October 22-28, 2026.