Daily Herald: Richard Jorgensen - 2024 candidate for DuPage County coroner

As published in the Daily Herald on September 23, 2024:

Bio

Party: Republican

Office Sought: DuPage County Coroner

City: Wheaton

Age: 70

Occupation: Coroner

Previous offices held: DuPage County Coroner since 2012

Why are you running for this office, whether for reelection or election for the first time? Is there a particular issue that motivates you? If so, what?

I am running to serve the people of DuPage County and continue to use my experience and training to administer and lead the office of coroner. In addition to those legally mandated duties, I am passionate about continuing my work in education and prevention of suicide and overdose deaths.

If you are an incumbent, describe your main contributions. Tell us of any important initiatives you've led. If you are a challenger, what would you bring to the board and what would your priority be?

In the 12 years as coroner I have substantially improved the office in the service that we provide for the public, fiscal responsibility and working conditions for our employees. The employees are now all nationally certified and well-educated with continuing education in forensic death investigation.

We are one of the first in the state with pastoral and psychological support and a wellness program for our employees. I completely changed the work hours and responsibilities to improve service to the citizens and safety and wellness of the employees. Early on I converted our paper record system to 100% electronic records, saving the taxpayers a large amount of money on supplies and hours spent making paper records.

Our office received 4,500 calls in 2012 and has received 6,800 calls last year. We have handled this 50% increase in workload with increased efficiencies and procedures and without need to hire extra deputies.

What special experience and professional qualifications does a person need to be an effective coroner? What experiences and qualifications do you possess that will provide a foundation for your success in the office?

The coroner’s office is an administrative and leadership position. I am a trauma surgeon and created and managed a nine-surgeon, 25-employee surgical office practice before becoming coroner. This experience provided me the administrative and leadership skills that I brought to the office. I am a surgeon who took care of over 40,000 patients and performed over 10,000 operations. I bring that knowledge and experience to the investigation of the deceased.

Describe your position regarding the allocation of resources in the coroner's office. Are personnel allocated as they should be? Are there capital expenses or other budgetary items that the office must address, and, if so, how do you propose to address them?

At this point our resources are well-allocated and we are well-staffed and funded by the DuPage County Board. All of our capital expense and needs have been addressed and met by either the county funds or coroner budget funds.

Describe your position on transparency and public service in the coroner's office and the ease of access to records by the public. If you believe improvements are needed, what are they and how would you go about achieving them?

I completely believe in transparency and the fact that the coroner and all employees are public servants and work for the citizens of DuPage County. The access to the coroner’s records are set in law and we follow those laws in all cases. I believe that our office has been as transparent as possible and serves the public to the best of our ability within the parameters set by law.

Please describe your philosophy about working with the media to get information to the public.

I have communicated with the media on a one-on-one basis, answering questions and providing answers directly when I can. If there is widespread interest, I may put out a press release.

Full reporting here.