Jim Harrison Passing Petitions to Run for Sheriff as an Independent

Jim Harrison was the only candidate for Sheriff spotted at the Lake in the Hills Parade.

Jim Harrison was the only candidate for Sheriff spotted at the Lake in the Hills Parade.

A press release from Jim Harrison, seeking to become an Independent candidate for Sheriff:

Harrison is in it to win it!

Because of misinformation being circulated about whether Woodstock attorney Jim Harrison will run for McHenry County Sheriff, today, Harrison laid all speculation to rest.

“There is absolutely no doubt that I am seeking to be elected Sheriff of McHenry County,” Jim Harrison said. Harrison announced his intention to run for Sheriff in July of 2012.

“The only thing that has changed since then, is that now I only have to look over one shoulder;” Harrison mused.”

The primary election is used by political parties to select the political party’s candidate to run for office in the General Election.

Harrison is running his campaign independent of party politics, so instead of a primary election, Harrison must collect 6,728 signatures from registered McHenry County voters to be on the ballot in November.

The political party candidates were only required to obtain 517 signatures from registered Republican voters.

However, because Harrison is running as an independent candidate, any registered voter in McHenry County can sign Harrison’s petitions; regardless of their political party affiliation, (if any); regardless of whether they previously signed a petition for Republican primary candidates Zinke or Prim, and regardless of whether or how they voted in the recent primary election.

“There are nearly 200,000 registered voters in McHenry County; more than enough for us to meet the signature requirement,” Harrison said, “and everyone involved in the campaign is dedicated to the success of the petition signature drive.” “We always welcome more help,” Harrison added.

For independent candidates, the signature collection period runs from March 25th to June 23rd, the last day for Harrison to turn in petitions.

Political party candidates collected their petition signatures in the fall, ahead of the primary election on March 18th.

“I had people calling me before the primary asking me why I didn’t have signs up, and I had to remind them that I have no primary election” Harrison said.

“Others speculated whether I was running for Sheriff because I haven’t turned my candidacy documents in to the Clerk’s Office,” Harrison continued, “as an independent, my candidacy documents get turned in with my petitions in June.”

“Clearly, McHenry County voters are unaccustomed to having an independent choice for Sheriff on the ballot in the General Election,” Harrison said; “I’m here to give McHenry County voters that choice.”

“In this election, McHenry County will have the opportunity to entrust the responsibility for the Sheriff’s Office to a politically-independent, experienced business professional, who will act in the best interests of the people of McHenry County, and without preference or priority for the interests of any political party.”

“It’s time to ‘raise the bar’ in the qualifications we demand in our Sheriff, and I am confident that my law enforcement background, my professional experience, and my record will meet the highest expectations of the voters,” Harrison stated.

“And all of McHenry County is welcome to join us,” Harrison invited; “we have supporters from one end of the county to another; we have Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Tea Party members, and a whole bunch of independent voters whose tireless efforts are giving legs to this campaign – and we are off and running.”

“Make no mistake,” Harrison said, “I’m in this race to win, but know also that my motives are politically neutral.” “My interest is in the job and the work that goes with being Sheriff, not the title,” Harrison said.

Visit www.JimHarrisonForSheriff.com for more information.


Comments

Jim Harrison Passing Petitions to Run for Sheriff as an Independent — 49 Comments

  1. Hey Jim, when you actually get on the ballot feel free to actually BE a candidate vs PRETEND to be one.

    IF you can get the legally mandated 6,727 signatures you know you will need at least 8,000 to survive a challenge.

    Everyone knows you will never be able to gain that many signatures.

    AND – we love you posting on your facebook page that you will pay people to go get your signatures!!!!!

    But, if you do WE the people can’t WAIT to hear why you voted for Barack H. Obama – TWICE!!!

    We also can’t wait to hear you explain publicly why you entered the McHenry County Sheriff’s race as a Republican and then switched to Independent.

    WE are SURE it had nothing to do with your Barack Obama sticker on your Prius and which we have a picture of!!!

    WE also know that you were up after 3 AM on other blogs in the past threatening to sue the voters you hope to covet for pointing out such facts.

    Sadly you don’t realize that the voters you are threatening are exempt from your threat of a lawsuit.

    So, we anxiously await your public comments on why you, a super democrat who voted for BHO TWICE, ran first as a Republican.

    When you actually get on the ballot feel free to actually BE a candidate vs PRETEND to be one.

    IF you can get the legally mandated 6,727 signatures you know you will need at least 8,000 to survive a challenge.

    Everyone knows you will never be able to gain that many signatures.

    But, if you do WE the people can’t WAIT to hear why you voted for Barack H. Obama – TWICE!!!

    We also can’t wait to hear you explain publicly why you entered the McHenry County Sheriff’s race as a Republican and then switched to Independent.

    WE are SURE it had nothing to do with your Barack Obama sticker on your Prius and which we have a picture of!!!

    WE also know that you were up after 3 AM on other blogs in the past threatening to sue the voters you hope to covet for pointing out such facts.

  2. Ok, so I took the time to go to his web site and read everything.

    I’m not going to comment on anything but this S.O.S. program he wants to start.

    I get the idea of it and everything but truthfully it just sounds like a HUGE tax hick for us all.

    If the cost is possibly shared by the schools, county, city’s,towns, etc. that means all of these entities will raise our taxes to fund this program.

    Right?

    Correct me if I’m wrong but that doesn’t sound like a good plan to me.

  3. I also looked at his website and it seems he is qualified as an attorney but I question his experience in the Sheriff’s department from 1981-1989.

    That is only 8 years.

    Then I went to his Law Enforcement qualifications and discovered Mr.Harrison had listed certifications he obtained while being a Deputy Sheriff.

    I am not familiar with the classes that were implemented by the Sheriff’s department during those years but I can attest to the type of Training and Certifications that I received while being employed by a Sheriff’s department.

    This training was a type of in-service training and just an overview of each subject.

    The classes were sometimes only 1 hour in length and then we received a Certificate.

    If this is the case with Mr. Harrison then I feel it is not adequate for experience in being the Sheriff.

    I myself could list all and probably more classes as Mr. Harrison has but in NO way would I be qualified to be a Sheriff.

    But like I said I am not sure this is the case. He might have gone to different classes which I am sure he will explain.

    We will have to see as the campaign progresses.

  4. Truth/Voter, whomever-

    Where, in the IL Constitution, does it state one must be a law enforcement officer in order to be Sheriff?

    There are a few sheriffs in this State who have not been certified officers, ever.

    Harrison has had 8 years at MCSO (which in unarguably more years at a Sheriff’s Office than Prim).

    Let this pan out and see what happens.

    It’s confusing that, after this hotly contentious primary wherein this blog was mainly prochoice-that now you all want no choice but Prim.

    Win or lose, this is America-why be afraid of having a choice?

    Let we, the public, decide who’s more capable…

  5. I also went to his website.

    Now here is a candidate with Sherriff experience , !!! McHenry long time residence, knows the law and can save the County Money from frivolous law suites..

    I also prefer the local candidate as I heard that Mr Prim will bring cook county politics and policies to McHenry ..

    Way to go Jim, you have my signature – !!

  6. Bill Prim for Sheriff

    The right man, the right time.

    Qualified, experienced, and ready to clean up MCSO

  7. really? , I absolutely agree with you that people should be given a choice and that the public should decide who is more capable and experienced to be the Sheriff.

    I do believe Mr. Harrison has proven himself experienced in the law area but my question was regarding his quality of education received by the Sheriff’s department and if that education was only an in-service training class.

    People in law enforcement will understand my question.

    I do believe Mr. Prim is the most qualified candidate with many years of experience and is the most qualified to change and lead the Sheriff’s department that the people of McHenry County will be proud of.

    It takes more than 8 years of law enforcement to tackle all of the areas of concerns within the department.

    This is only my opinion and others will make their own assessments as they are entitled to do.

  8. “I absolutely agree with you that people should be given a choice and that the public should decide who is more capable and experienced to be the Sheriff.”

    Why?

    Harrison will pull off a miracle if he wins more than 30% of the vote.

    The general election will be nothing more than a side show unless some horrible, horrible dirt about Prim comes out in the next eight months.

    What is so valuable about an election that everyone knows Harrison is going to lose?

    All this does is divert attention and resources that the conservatives of this county could better use against Jack Franks.

  9. Dark Horse: Prim bringing Cook County politics to the sheriff’s office?

    That is hilarious.

    I’ve heard some in law enforcement say that MCSD is more corrupt than Cook County by the way!

    You can’t find any dirt on Prim because there isn’t any.

    So you’ll just have to lie, and repeat lies, but we’re onto you and your tactics just like we are on Obama.

    Speaking of Obama, will Harrison explain why he voted for him twice?

  10. Dark Horse: You do not know the internal workings of the Sheriff’s Department.

    The Sheriff is not a working attorney for the department.

    Someone mentioned (check Mr. Harrison’s site) that Sheriff Tom Dart of Cook County was also a lawyer but what they failed to disclose was that Sheriff Dart has quite a large number of lawyers that he has hired for the Sheriff’s Department.

    Frivolous lawsuits will always be filed and there is nothing anyone can do about that.

  11. Proud Conservative, instead of making this campaign about looking for dirt, which you Prim supporters seem to wallow in, how about this time we make it about qualifications and issues.

    The guy merely confirmed he’s running for sheriff and discusses a little bit about the difference in the petition process between political party candidates and independents.

    And Truth, read the article again, Harrison’s petitions can’t be filed til June.

    No one called Prim a pretend candidate for the year before his petitions were filed.

    And didn’t Prim’s political sponsor, Lou Bianchi sue a blogger that slandered him?

    I get it, it’s ok for Bianchi to do, but not ok for Harrison to do.

    You Prim guys sure have a lot of double standards.

    I know, let’s settle this with a debate … oops, I forgot, seems like Prim can’t talk without somebody else’s hand up his back moving his mouth.

  12. Jim – please explain why you voted twice for Obama.

    It is important because it goes towards your beliefs and your character.

    You can either answer here or in a public forum.

    We the people anxiously await your answer.

    And please explain why you have to pay people to go out and get your signatures.

    I’ve never heard of anyone having to do that before.

  13. If a candidate has to pay people to get petitions signatures than he is lazy or has no supporters or both.

    How much money did Jimbo make from the county taxpayers during SA Pack days as outside counsel.

    I heard it was about $2.3 million.

    How many full time assistant states attorneys could you hire for that.

    In Jimbo’s brief career in law enforcement did ever reach any level of supervisory position?

    I’m sure Jimbo wants to debate so he can use his smooth talking lawyer bullshit.

    Just what we need is an Obama wannabe running the sheriffs dept. .

  14. D’Antanyon: Like I said, no “dirt” could be found on Prim, so you people lied.

    He was never going to take the pension, but you kept on putting it out there as if it were true.

    I propose that this campaign use facts, such as facts on the candidate’s past dealings, jobs, etc. etc. etc….. should be very interesting!

  15. Wow…team Prim in full attack mode already.

    You are an angry bunch.

    I suspect Harrison will pull much of the Zinke vote, let’s face it that was very bitter.

    If Harrison pulls a large portion of the Zinke vote he really does not need a very large portion of the Counties independents to win….and who cares about Presidential politics in a local Sheriff’s race, that is just silly talk.

    It is going to be interesting to see just how anti-prosecutor experience the Bianchi crowd will get.

  16. …Also proudconservative…

    don’t be so sure no dirt was found on Prim, Zinke chose a strategy and some will say not going negative on some situations hurt his position.

    I suspect the next 7 months are going to be a different story and that we are going to learn a bunch more about Mr. Prim…

    and yes I would suspect there is a high chance of subpoenas headed out, but I would expect a flurry much closer to the election.

  17. ButSeriously — LOL.

    Now, who is angry?

    Zinke’s strategy not going negative?

    Seriously!!

    Goodbye and goodnight!

  18. But Seriously,

    Already you former Zinke supporters are stating untruths.

    The Prim supporters are not angry or in a attack mode as you say.

    We stand behind the truth and will support the truth.

    Do you notice that Teacher 155 is using another name.

    I also want to thank the former Zinke supporters who have come along side

    the Prim campaign and will be voting for Prim now.

    WE stand for all that want to make McHenry Sheriff’s Department the best.

  19. @ Really 12:02’s comment…

    Choice is great in a republican primary…and the Republicans Chose Bill Prim….and yes…

    there is another choice ahead… unless you are a Republican…

    then that choice was made…and we should stand with our party’s choice….eh..

    that would be Bill Prim…

  20. If Jim Harrison goes through the trouble to collect 6000 signatures then that is a great and noble act.

    The sheriff primary left me looking for some answers.

    I now know that Bill Prim and staff can basically run an effective campaign.

    I will be looking for worthwhile information from Harrison and his staff.

  21. Jeff-I was endowed with the capacity to think for myself, as I’m sure you were too.

    It’s folly to follow blind party politics as the sole decision on determining who is best qualified. If that’s your voting style-that’s your choice and you get to live with it.

    I’ve always felt it much more important to research and vette candidates myself-voting for those who are most aligned with my beliefs, values and stances; To me, that’s responsible voting…but to each their own.

  22. It seems to me that the nygren / zinke regime is litigious, many long and drawn out legal situations on the taxpayer dime. Hiring lawyers etc.

    Would anyone agree that there would potentially be more of the same if an attorney is elected to the office of sheriff?

  23. My question would be WHY did Mr. Harrison leave the Sheriff’s office?

    A person who is in law enforcement does not consider their employment a job but a career. Why didn’t Mr. Harrison stay with the McHenry Sheriff’s department and advance in the department?

    Magellan:

    That would be an excellent question for Mr. Harrison. You assume that if he
    were to become Sheriff that he would take on all the legal situations in the department?

    It looks like to me that Mr. Harrison left the Sheriff’s department to pursue another career. For that reason I will not speculate but will be asked.

  24. Magellan–

    I again went and read the resume and qualifications of Mr. Harrison and again other than his experience as a attorney I could not find any qualifications to run a Sheriff’s department.

    There will always be law suits against the department because the person filing will always think they have a better attorney.

    The key to avoiding frivolous lawsuits is having a qualified Sheriff as Bill Prim is to avoid the lawsuits.

    Prim understands the inside workings of the department and I feel that Mr. Harrison left the department too soon to attain that information and experience.

    I am not sure at what level or rank he left the department in but my question still remains as to why he was no longer interested in a career in the department.

    He may have good reason but that question should be addressed. Also how many years has it been since he was a deputy sheriff?

    Like I have said his qualifications as an attorney are commendable but this experience will not effect the workings of the Sheriff’s department.

  25. I also read Mr. Harrison’s deputy sheriff background.

    Gee that was 25 years ago….

    A lot of training must have been updated

    He lists all these classes he took but all the deputies go through these or most of them anyway.

    Mr. Harrison also lists many areas but he lists and gives a description of what the classes are and the duties of the units

    BUT

    how many actual Arson cases was he involved in personally?

    how many actual tactical assignment was he involved with and utilized his training?

    He is good at listing the duties of the units but how much did he actually do in these units?

    Bill Prim was actually a part of units that he was trained in and physically and mentally participated in cases.

    we will have to see if this is the case with Mr. Harrison.

  26. There is a difference between receiving a ” Certificate” and being “Certified” to be certified a person must continue that training throughout time and it would be interesting to see if after 25 years Mr. Harrison has kept up his certifications in any of the areas he has stated he has participated in.

  27. I do believe Harrison was the plaintiffs attorney for a civil suit against Island Lake Police Officers a few years ago.

    I’m sure that will give the deputies some confidence in their leader and will boost Morale at the department.

    Not.

  28. Is Mr. Harrison correct in his assertion that anyone can sign his petition that is a qualified register voter and it be a valid signature?

    I thought that as an independent, the signatures on his petitions could only be from persons that did not sign or vote in the previous primary?

  29. You are right Magellan

    Vote Bill Prim

    The Right Man At The Right Time

  30. Just for your information:

    Mr. Harrison stated on his website that he felt that his employment as an attorney would be beneficial to the Sheriff’s department.

    He also went on to say that many other departments had the Sheriff with attorney background.

    He set as an example Tom Dart the Sheriff of Cook County.

    Sheriff Dart has hired many many attorneys to represent the department.

    So , so much for his past experience helping the department and saving the taxpayers money.

    The department has also lost many many cases where the prisoners themselves have sued the department and have won their cases.

    A short while ago the Sheriff department sergeants sued the Sheriff’s department and won over 2 million dollars.

    Now that is not saving the tax payers money by having past legal experience.

  31. Some of the comments on this blog make me think a lot of you are a bunch of idiots.

    Some of you so called conservatives would vote for a Blue Smurf if he/she had the Republican stamp of approval!

    Point: All Americans have the right to vote for whomever they choose in any election and it is irrelevant to this sheriff’s campaign who either candidate votes for.
    Point: Running the Sheriff’s Department involves much more than just a cop background. It is a business and Mr. Harrison has a much broader educational and work background than Bill Prim. He not only has cop experience and law experience, he also has a degree in Finance, something that could be put to good use in a department that is use to wasting money.
    Point: Any work Mr. Harrison did in the past for the County just adds to his experience. It is an asset that he brings to the table. The DA’s office hires outside counsel all the time. Nothing wrong with that.

    Point: Politicians across the country use companies that get paid to go out and canvass for signatures on petitions. Voters need to understand this. The important thing is that the signatures are valid.

    Point: The Prim camp seems scared of Mr. Harrison right out of the gate.
    Don’t underestimate Jim Harrison’s ability to procure the signatures he needs. He will succeed.

    Point: Bloggers like “Truth” are just agitators trying to deflect the voters from the real issues that need to be addressed by the candidates.
    The voters in McHenry County are not as stupid as some of the bloggers on this site. We are looking for a candidate who is able to stick to the issues that are going to affect this county. The Sheriff’s Office is there to enforce the law and act in the best interest of the people in this county.

    Point: It is refreshing to have a candidate who does not want to bring party politics to the office and he’s got a lot of people in this county backing him. Game on!

  32. Mr. Harrison may be running as an independent but what is he really?

    Decided not to run on the republican party

    Has a Obama sticker on his car ( allegedly) and now goes to independent

    People do change parties only to try and win a race.

    Sounds like this is what he is doing.

  33. I for one, like the idea of having more than one candidate to choose from.

    As far as Mr. Harrison voting for the President, that is a plus for me and I’m sure it is for a number of other voters in McHenry County even though the county is Republican dominated.

    I wouldn’t count Mr. Harrison out, especially since reading this blog, it seems the opposition is already running scared.

  34. Oh the democrat’s are coming out now……..

    If you really read Harrisons blog and site you would know that he is not qualified to run for Sheriff.

    He is a attorney nothing more.

    Obama are you kidding me. Your comment had to be a typo.

    Worst President ever.

    I don’t know where you got the idea of Prim running scared?

    He certainly isn’t.

    You just want to start a rumor.

  35. Harrison has only 9 days left to get signatures……….

    Linda, have you read the WHOLE blog about Harrison, or just this particular article?

    You are about 3 mos. late in commenting.

    Harrison was counted out as soon as he said he’d run ……….

    Flip-flopper…

    Pack, Nygren, association…..

    Memorial Day signatures at Union Cemetery…….

    Memorial Day, mumbo jumbo, explanation ?..

    only 7 yrs. 6 months on the force….

    A lawyer,of all things… etc……….

    He’ll never get all his signatures, so you won’t have to worry about voting for him.

    Prim wasn’t afraid of Zinke, and he CERTAINLY ISN’T AFRAID OF HARRISON !!!!!

    Please update yourself.

  36. Gee as an hour ago Harrison was STILL trying to get signatures.

    Must not have enough.

    If he was really concerned about the citizens of Mc Henry County he never would have wanted to run as Sheriff.

    In my opinion and as the opinion of others,he is not qualified.

    Attorney yes Sheriff no.

  37. ” Happy Trails” Summarized it.

    Harrision has a long list of bad political behavior.

    He would make an excellent co-author to Andy Zinke’s book “Campaigning for Political Dummies.

    However, the biggest problem Harrison has is his association with Pack and Nygren…

    He will never get past that…

    Further, Harrison has yet to provide an explanation for the land deal next to the court house, with Nygren and Pack….

    The people have the right to know.

    To be revealed at a McHenry County Theatre near you.

    Oh please ML, experience trumps Harrison’s education any day…

    When high level executives are hired it is not because of a degree, experience weighs far more… If a corporation has the option of choosing someone with a degree or years of experience, that experience always wins…

    That is a fact…

    There are many successful high level executives that do not have degrees…

    Look at Bill Gates, no College degree, yet he owns one of the most successful computer companies in the world…

    Your argument is null and void.

    Prim is the right person for the job.

    Many have waited years for someone like Prim to come along…

    Harrison has already proven he is not right for the job…

    Game on!

  38. In my opinion, Harrison’s college degree is not irrelevant.

    Ranked as some of the worlds wealthiest people as ranked by Forbes Magazine. Even if one removes Bill Gates, who left Harvard University and is now worth $66.0 billion, college dropouts are worth $5.3 billion on average, compared to those who finished only bachelor’s degrees, who are worth $2.9 billion.

    List of College dropout BILLIONAIRES–>

    Mark Zuckerberg US
    Steve Jobs US
    Larry Ellison US
    Bill Gates[4] – US
    Mark Zuckerberg[5] – US
    Lawrence Ellison[6] – US
    Michael Dell[7] – US
    Marc Rich[8] (d. 2013) – US
    Ty Warner[9] – US
    Gautam Adani[10] – India
    Micky Jagtiani[11] – India
    Shahid Balwa[12] – India
    Subhash Chandra[13] – India
    Vinod Goenka[14] – India
    PNC Menon[15][16] – India
    Roman Abramovich[17] – Russia
    Sheldon Adelson[18] – US
    Amancio Ortega[19] – Spain
    Donald Newhouse[20] – US
    François Pinault[21] – France
    Jack Taylor[22] – US
    David Geffen[23] – US
    Ted Turner[24] – US
    Henry Fok[25] (d. 2006) – Hong Kong
    Ralph Lauren[26] – US
    Mohammed Al Amoudi[27] – Saudi Arabia
    Stanley Ho[28] – Hong Kong
    Gabe Newell[29] – US
    Dustin Moskovitz[30] – US
    Richard Li[31] – Hong Kong
    Sheldon Solow[32] – US
    Stef Wertheimer[33][34] – Israel
    Hiroshi Yamauchi[35] (d. 2013) – Japan
    Evan Williams[36] – US

  39. I’m sure glad that the Purple Heart Monument Dedication ceremony won’t be until Aug.7.

    Sure wouldn’t want Harrison and his group to disrespect that ceremony like they did on Veterans Day.

  40. Actually, how long did Harrison go to Harvard?

    Also I question his ability to wisely spend money.

    He spent how much to pay the people to get signatures at 2 bucks a signature ?

    So Harrison is taking a chance with the money.

    If he gets the signatures then it was worth spending the money.

    If he doesn’t then it is money wasted.

    Is that how he is going to run the Sheriff’s department.

    Taking chances with the tax payers money?

  41. Voter….Harrison never went to Harvard…..unless you are talking about the town.

  42. I’ve read the above comments and thought for a moment I was reading the Crook County Blog!….

    in my opinion most of this is written by people either worried about their job or their incumbent political future….

    you really think the voters are this naive?

  43. Facts are facts and Bill Prim has the ability,background,experience and knowledge to run the Sheriff’s department.

    Remember it is called ” The McHenry County Sheriff’s Department” McHenry County being “The citizens of McHenry County” and the Sheriff’s Department that which serves the people.

    Prim believes that and will bring back the Sheriff’s department so the people will be proud of their County.No more corruption.

    Vote for Bill Prim for our next Sheriff.

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