SALINE COUNTY -- Harrisburg native and longtime law enforcement veteran Ken Clore says he intends to run for Saline County Sheriff on the Democratic ticket.
Clore currently serves as chief deputy for Saline County Sheriff Keith Brown and has worked in that capacity for nearly six years.
"I have headed up every major criminal investigation we've had here since that time," Clore said.
Upon leaving Harrisburg, he was hired by the Federal Bureau of Investigations in Washington. He joined the Army later and spent three years in the Army Intelligence Corps during the Vietnam War, serving from Baltimore.
Clore was Supervisor of Investigations with the Illinois State Police for 17 years, with a total of 24 years in investigations. He also worked as a trooper for five years with ISP.
He has three children and five grandchildren.
He retired from ISP in 2001 and taught law enforcement classes at Southeastern Illinois College for a while, he said.
But, he wouldn't stay out of criminal investigations for long.
"When you're retired, sometimes the hardest thing is being able to say 'no'," Clore said, with a chuckle.
He was asked by to lead investigations for the Wayne County State's Attorney's Office and later led investigations in Saline County for then-State's Attorney David Nelson.
He also was chairman of a nonprofit organization for former Judge Brocton Lockwood.
In 2008, Clore applied for a job with the National Park Service as a visitors assistant, and was hired in the Grand Teton National Park. It wasn't simply a job greeting visitors, either, he said.
"I was entrusted to collect and safely maintain various cash fees on a daily basis, which often might have been as much as $25,000," he said. "It was a great job in beautiful country."
The job was seasonal, though, and he wanted a warmer climate during the winters. He then was able to get a winter job through NPS at a park in Hawaii.
While formal filings for office won't occur until after the Labor Day holiday, many potential Saline County candidates, including Clore, have announced their intentions to run.
Clore said he feels that his long history in law enforcement and his current position of chief deputy makes him the most qualified to be Saline County's next sheriff.
"During the past six years, as chief deputy, I have helped oversee every aspect of the office," Chlore said. "That includes the jail, communications, the courthouse, the budget and other areas."
He said future goals include continuing to improve the services the department provides to the county's residents.
"One goal is to expand leadership and help improve the quality of the deputies, both in casework and in follow-up to ensure successful prosecution of cases," he said. "Also, we lost two deputies recently due to budget constraints, and we've got to replace them and increase our drug investigations."
