Updated 1:32 a.m. Nov. 4, 2020

As of 10:06 p.m. Joe Cervantez leads in Jackson county’s state’s attorney race by 31.40% with 54 out of 56 precincts. Alex Crawshaw, coroner candidate, leads with 23.68% with 54 out of 56 precincts reporting.

These tallies do not include mail-in ballots that have yet to be counted or the final two precincts for the county.

The Daily Egyptian attempted to contact Mike Carr for comment twice and he did not respond. 

Cervantez said his goals are: to rebuild the office and the trust between law enforcement and southern Illinois communities. 

Cervantez’s main focus is making sure juveniles are helped by contacting community leaders himself to get the resources they need and to keep them out of the criminal system.

“I’m going to establish a conviction and sentencing review committee made up of members of the community,” Cervantez said.

This will allow the community to review and make sure Cervantez did the right thing, building trust in the community, he said.

A chiefs meeting will also be established every month where Cervantez can communicate with law enforcement about what is going on in their communities, Cervantez said.

Alex Crashaw said in a previous interview either himself or a deputy will be on call 24/7 and he will have a better response time getting to scenes than the last coroner, Thomas Kupferer.

Larry Young, the father of Molly Young, said Cervantez and Crawshaw are men of integrity and he believes they’ll make a good team. Young had been campaigning for Cervantez and Crawshaw throughout the race.

Molly Young was a Carbondale resident who was shot in her ex-boyfriend’s apartment in 2012. Cervantez and Crawshaw being in office could affect the future of her case.

See more: State’s attorney and coroner’s races could impact future of Molly Young case

“This is what we’ve been needing, we got the obstacles out of the way,” Young said. “I think they’re for the better.”

Staff reporter Keaton Yates can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @keatsians.

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