CHICAGO—A recently enacted criminal justice overhaul in Illinois has led to an exodus of sheriffs, and among them is Scott Harvel, the Union County sheriff in the southern tip of the state.
Harvel leads a typical small, rural sheriff’s office with about 10 sworn deputies, each stretched thin to cope with the mounting methamphetamine-related drug offenses and mental health cases that plague rural towns. Resources are far scarcer in rural counties than they are in big urban areas, and everyone wears a dozen hats to get the job done.
