But as Kim grew up–attending St. Bruno School and then Maria High School and then Saint Xavier University–the Democratic Party began to leave her.
So much so that in 2022, she is running for Cook County Board as a Republican and is asking for your vote in the general election of Tuesday, November 8 (or sooner if you are voting early).
Kim is running for a four-year term in the 16th County Board District, which is mostly suburban but includes the northwest corner of Garfield Ridge (everything north of 55th Street and west of Central Avenue).
As noted in a recent article in a neighborhood paper, Kim describes herself as a “law-and-order candidate” dedicated to protecting the rights of law-abiding men, women and children.
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As a single mother, she sent her son to St. Joseph School in Summit. He then went on to graduate from St. Ignatius College Prep and today is a college sophomore studying business.
Jagielski built a career in the Cook County Adult Probation Department, where she has served for the last 25 years. In that role, she has served in what are widely known as problem-solving (or specialty) courts, which work to help low-level criminal defendants suffering from an underlying mental health, social or substance abuse problem from becoming repeat offenders. Problem-solving courts achieve this goal by providing treatment and intensive supervision.
Specialty courts in Cook County also include problem-solving services specifically for military veterans.
“I’ve seen how the criminal justice system can help people turn away from crime and turn their lives around, and I’m proud to be a part of that,” she said.
In 2022 she is running as a Republican against a Democratic incumbent, something once unthinkable in the Democratic home where she grew up.
“But I see what the Democratic Party has become over the years,” she said, saying its position on many issues—especially crime–has moved from puzzling to troubling. “And I look at myself and think my positions on the issues haven’t really changed. So I think it’s not a matter of me leaving the Democratic Party, but the Democratic Party left me. And the more I talk with people in traditionally Democratic precincts, the more I see how a lot of people feel that way, too.”
On her campaign website (win-kim.com), she leaves no doubt on where she stands on crime.
Like a number of people, Jagielski has expressed strong concerns about the controversial Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, which among other things has abolished cash bail for people accused of crimes.
She described the act as something that may have started with good intentions, but became “frightening” in its final form, when it was passed by Democrats in the General Assembly in 2021.
Some in law enforcement are calling it the Anything But Safety Act, saying the law will turn public safety upside down.
Jagielski essentially agrees with that assessment, and added that beyond what she and others see as a flood of accused criminals turned loose on the streets, county government will face a huge logistical challenge to monitor those roaming free while awaiting trial.
Though crime and public safety are her main focus. Jagielski also is calling for the repeal of the county gasoline tax, saying motorists are “already paying too much at the pump without government making gas even more expensive.”
“I think a big question people need to ask themselves before they vote is, ‘Do you and your family feel safer now than you did four years ago?’ If you feel safer, if you think there’s less crime than four years ago, then vote for the incumbents. If you feel less safe, if you worry about crime getting out of control, then vote for the challengers who are dedicated to fighting crime and protecting innocent, law-abiding people.”