Congratulations to Judge Jeffery Chrones! We are honored to announced that Judge Jeffery G. Chrones has triumphed in this campaign and will become the first Circuit Court Judge elected in the new 18th Judicial Subcircuit! Thank you to everyone who supported and followed along throughout the last few months.
Below is a note from Judge Jeff himself, summing up the campaign season:
It is with immense gratitude and humility that I announce our campaign has triumphed in this judicial election. I am extremely honored to have been elected the first Circuit Court Judge in the new 18th Judicial Subcircuit.
I was confident of the result on election night when 100% of the precincts had reported but I wanted to wait for all mail-in votes to be counted confirming the victory before making any announcement.
I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who believed in this campaign, who volunteered tirelessly for this campaign and so many of you that contributed in a variety of ways to the success of this campaign. I was truly touched by the offer of friends to go door to door collecting signatures, friends putting up signs all over the subcircuit, friends standing at polling places asking voters to vote for me, friends sharing their knowledge from their past campaign experiences, friends making phone calls for me, friends lending me their support when it was not in their best interest but because we were friends, and friends working to get me elected. I also thank the many organizations who took the time to review my credentials and who endorsed me in this race. It was truly a team effort spreading our message far and wide and there aren’t enough words to say thank you.
As most of you know I had no intention of running in this election cycle until I learned of this late opening on December 1, 2023. Through the encouragement and counsel of good friends and family we embarked on an unbelievable three month wild ride that culminated in this victory. We put together a campaign team in just a couple of days. We gathered over 2100 signatures to get on the ballot in only 12 days, filing on the first day to obtain the top ballot spot. Through hard work we spread our message and convinced voters that supporting my candidacy was a worthy endeavor. I cannot thank my Campaign Chairs Daniel E OBrien and Karen Patterson enough for taking on the task of leading the campaign. I thank my close friends who served dual roles as campaign advisors providing keen insight, strategizing with me, calling me to offer their support and encouragement each step of the way as I forged ahead in uncharted territory as a first time candidate. You know who you are and I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Last but not least, I want to take this time to express my love and gratitude to my wife Hellena and my three children Constance, Jeffery and Christie, my Mother-in-law, who is like a mother to me, and of course our beautiful puppy, Wrigley, who all made this victory possible. They all stepped forward, volunteering to help in every way possible and never leaving my side. From Constance and Jeffery standing on train platforms at 5:30am on December mornings asking strangers to sign petitions before work and school, to Christie driving down to Springfield in the middle of the night so we could be first in line to file my nominating petitions, to all of them standing out there at polling places for hours on end throughout early voting and all election day. Had I not won this election, I would still be the biggest winner because of the kind of family I have.
I must however single out my daughter, Constance Chrones, for serving as my campaign treasurer, marketing genius, website developer, social media strategist and Chief of Staff. Constance devoted countless hours organizing and keeping the campaign moving in a positive direction, all the while working a legal internship and going to law school. I know you are a capable person as you are about to graduate law school and enter the legal profession but I saw so many sparkling facets of you that I didn’t know existed. Constance, you were my secret weapon and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is with the utmost love and deep admiration that I say thank you to my entire family.
I am proud to have run a positive campaign as did my opponent. We each left the campaign trail with our heads held high knowing we gave it our all as part of an honest, respectable and fair democratic process.
Thanks again to all my friends, family and community.
