McDonough County Sheriff Nick Petitgout said he will run for a third term in office.
“I’m very happy with the way things are going around here, very proud of my office, very proud of this county,” Petitgout said. “I really look forward to continuing to serve the people of McDonough County.”
Petitgout said he would use another term to focus on maintaining a stable workforce in the department. He said fewer people are pursuing careers in law enforcement than in the past, so law enforcement agencies across the state face a challenge in recruiting and retaining employees.
He also looks forward to solving more crimes.
“When something happens here, we are going to figure it out. I think that means everything,” Petitgout said.
He said he likes to be kept busy, and the job of sheriff definitely does that.
Petitgout, 45, attended Western Illinois University in the late 1990s before joining the Marine Corps for five years. He then returned to WIU and graduated in 2006 with a degree in law enforcement and justice administration.
He did an internship in Hancock County before being hired by the McDonough County Sheriff’s Department in 2007. He became a detective with the department in 2008.
Petitgout joined the Moline Police Department in 2013 before returning to McDonough County in 2014. He was named chief deputy in 2015.
Petitgout won the Republican primary for sheriff in March 2018. The county board then appointed him sheriff in May 2018 when Rick VanBrooker stepped down seven months before his term as sheriff ended.
Petitgout was sworn into his first full term as sheriff in December 2018.
Petitgout will once again seek the Republican Party nomination in next year’s primary.
Former Sheriff’s Deputy Evan Schmalshof is also seeking the Republican nomination for sheriff. He has twice sued Petitgout and the county over attempts to dismiss him following a fatal high-speed chase.
Petitgout and the county have also been sued over a case in which a jail inmate beat to death his cellmate.
Petitgout said he does not comment on lawsuits, but added they won’t deter him from seeking re-election.
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