Will County Gazette

Will County Clerk Lauren Staley Ferry has been silent on three countywide races that swung in favor of Democrats following the counting of 6,474 mail-in ballots. 

The infusion of Democrat votes a week following the Nov. 8 election had some questioning the optics. 

“Over 6,400 vote by mail votes dropped in Will County today. A full week after Election Day. Changing the results of multiple races. And people wonder why confidence in the system is being lost,” Safe Suburbs USA PAC said on Twitter. 

Ferry did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Will County Gazette.

The votes changed the outcome of the races for sheriff, treasurer and circuit judge. 

On election night, Will County Sheriff Mike Kelley was trailing GOP challenger Jim Reilly by 289 votes. That changed Tuesday when the heavily Democrat tranche of votes gave Kelley a likely insurmountable lead of 2,244 votes. 

Democrat Treasurer Tim Brophy also flipped the race on GOP challenger Raj Pillai. Pillai was leading by 478 votes before the late votes were counted and he found himself trailing by 1,930 votes. Democrat Associate Judge Jessica Colon-Sayre was down by 1,430 votes on election night to GOP candidate Joliet Attorney Bob Bodach. After the late votes were counted, she found herself ahead by 1,322 votes.

Reilly conceded the sheriff’s race after the additional votes were counted. 

“I cannot begin to thank the voters of Will County, my campaign committee, countless volunteers and all those who supported me throughout my campaign for sheriff!!” he said on Facebook. “Early indications are we came up short after the recent mail-in ballot count. I want to wish Sheriff Michael Kelley well and I hope he serves the people of Will County and the hard-working men and women at the sheriffs department with the same dedication and commitment to duty that I would’ve.”

Pillai’s defeat came after the candidate for treasurer shook up things on the Will County Veterans Assistance Commission (VAC). Pillai, a certified public accountant, accused his opponent, Brophy of mishandling government funds after the latter authorized a nearly $500,000 contract for marketing for the VAC. The contract was awarded to a company owned by a friend of VAC Superintendent Kristina McNichol, Will County Gazette reported.