Carmen Navarro Gercone Discusses Her Candidacy as Cook County Sheriff With The Southland Journal
Carmen Navarro Gercone discusses her candidacy as Cook County Sheriff with The Southland Journal (Cook County, IL) Carmen Navarro Gercone is the challenger to the current Cook County Sheriff incumbent, Tom Dart. With 26 years of experience in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, Gercone’s life experiences have pushed her to run for Cook County Sheriff.
The mother of 5 grew up in West Humboldt Park and eventually moved to the northern suburb of Skokie. This was due to gang violence that resulted in the death of her older brother.
Gercone describes the move as an adjustment where she learned to say things with a smile to avoid confrontation. Her parents were both factory workers, which took a toll on their health. Shortly after graduating, Gercone got pregnant and moved back to Chicago to help her sister.
In 1993, she filled out a $20 application for the sheriff’s office, a decision that started her career.
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Paying It Forward
For Gercone, her candidacy for Cook County Sheriff is an opportunity to use her background to be for the community what she needed when she was younger.
“The sheriff’s office was my opportunity to prove to my father the choices I made, the decisions I made, and the mistakes I made weren’t going to define who I was,” said Gercone.
The experiences of being a single mother, growing up in an unfamiliar neighborhood, losing a brother to gang violence, and having sisters facing issues with domestic violence were all used to better connect with the communities she oversees.
Over the span of her career, Gercone has achieved many accomplishments, including several promotions and being a part of Class #252 of Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy. She has written policies and procedures to train deputies to be more empathetic, compassionate, and competent in their roles.
In her current role as Executive Clerk of Court Operations and Administration, she is responsible for the supervision and administration of one of the largest court systems in the United States.
If elected, one issue she wants to change is electronic monitoring. With multiple levels of leadership involved, Gercone views this as an issue that no one is accountable for the rehabilitation process. She feels the sheriff should morally and ethically responsible for providing services, such education, reform, mental health, and substance abuse.
“We are doing a disservice to the community, and we are also doing a disservice to the offenders,” said Gercone.
She also wants better collaboration between the sheriff’s office and local municipalities when it comes to warrants.
A Woman of The Shield
As a member of Women of The Shield, Gercone recalled two moments early in her career that made her an advocate for women in law enforcement.
During the first week in the Deputy Sheriff’s training academy, 4 weeks after the birth of her second child, and while still nursing, she had to stand at attention until her shirt was soaking wet. On her first day at the job, she experienced sexually harassment by the police chief with an inappropriate comment.
“I had a gun, I had handcuffs, I had a uniform, and I have never felt more insecure and unsafe,” reflected Gercone.
In its 191-year history, there has never been a woman as the Cook County Sheriff. Gercone wants to inspire the girls in her family and little Latina girls that they can do anything.
“You can be in a room full of people who don’t look like you, talk like you or dress like you, and you can still come out ahead. That is the biggest thing for me,” said Gercone.
She wants constituents to feel in every step of the way and in every conversation, they were there with her.
Carmen Navarro Gercone discusses her candidacy as Cook County Sheriff with The Southland Journal
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