Amid the constant buzz surrounding the presidential election, a much quieter race is afoot in Champaign County heading into election day — the race for the coroner seat. This election cycle, incumbent Steve Thuney is racing as the Republican nominee against Laurie Brauer, the Democratic nominee.
The county coroner serves as the head of the coroner’s office, a government department dedicated to determining the causes and manners of death within the county. This role involves investigating violent or unnatural deaths and issuing official death certificates.
“I do think it goes beyond that,” Brauer said. “In addition to determining the cause and death is that we provide a service to the community, to the families and help them through (the death) process.”
The election results are consequential for how the office functions daily, what policies are put in place for death investigations and how the office interacts with the broader Champaign-Urbana community.
Although Thuney and Brauer are running with political party affiliations, both attest that party politics do not play a role in their platform or how they would operate as the county coroner.
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“There is really nothing political to it — other than the campaign. I think it should go non-partisan,” Thuney said. “You pick the one you think can do the job best. Forget about Rs and Ds and Is; (they) have nothing to do with what I do.”
Nov. 5 won’t be the first time Thuney and Brauer compete for the spot. Both applied for the county coroner position last winter following Duane Northrup’s early retirement. Thuney was appointed by the Champaign County Board and began his shortened term in January.
Thuney
Thuney hopes voters see what the board saw in him in January — his resumé. The candidate has conducted approximately 5,000 death investigations in 14 years as chief deputy coroner and continues into his 38th year in the volunteer fire service, now serving as fire chief.
“I do think I’m the better choice,” Thuney said. “I’ve been there a lot longer. I have more experience. I have more training.”
Thuney hopes to use the upcoming term to introduce social workers to families and increase community outreach events — efforts that go beyond a coroner’s typical duties — but to Thuney, are vital to the position.
“Being able to help a family through what’s probably one of the worst days of their lives … is really what it’s all about,” Thuney said. “I don’t do this for any kind of recognition. It’s about helping others. That’s what I’ve done most of my life — through the fire service, now through the coroner’s office. That’s what drives me.”
Thuney works with the Rotary International SMART program to teach the public about Naloxone, and he helps with the administration of the opioid overdose reversal drug. The office has also begun carrying gun safety locks to give families whose deceased may have left firearms in the home, allowing them to discontinue their use.
Despite the attention national elections receive, Thuney urges voters to give the coroner’s race and local elections their deserved attention.
“These are people who truly impact what goes on in your immediate area in your life,” Thuney said. “The coroner is one of those positions that when you need the coroner, you need them to be good at their job. You need them to be professional and empathetic.”
Each investigation and declaration by the coroner can be felt on a greater scale, drawing only more importance to the election, according to Thuney.
“If the death certificate is wrong in some way, if you make the wrong call, that impacts so many things: life insurance, social security benefits, retirement benefits,” Thuney said. “It can negatively impact the community in getting resources to help combat those kinds of things. It helps funnel money and policy so we can get services to people who need them.”
Thuney considers his relevant experience the essence of this campaign, citing several difficult instances he has encountered throughout his career.
“You will not get comfortable with this job for about two and a half to three years,” Thuney said. “You learn how to deal with these traumatic pains you’re going to see.”
His time, while rewarding, has proven difficult and time-consuming.
“It’s a busy day every day; I don’t sleep a lot,” Thuney said. “It’s a tough job. It’s not for everybody. All my credit would go to other people for how I am able to do the job, and I think I do it pretty well.”
Thuney has been officially endorsed by several state senators and representatives and several county coroners, including Northrup.
Brauer
Heading into election day, Champaign County native Brauer is running on her background in public safety and healthcare, with a strong emphasis on her ties to the C-U community.
Before becoming a deputy coroner in 2021, Brauer led the Emergency Medical Services program for the University’s Fire Service Institute. She also worked at Carle Foundation Hospital as an emergency department technician and for the county sheriff’s office as a corrections officer.
“I’m the more qualified candidate to be the Champaign County coroner because I’ve spent the majority of my career at the intersection of healthcare and public safety — a very unique background for a very unique position,” Brauer said on her campaign website.
There are two issues Brauer says she would address if elected as county coroner: the need for policies in place for the office and the strenuous work conditions staff members currently deal with as a result of understaffing and overworking.
According to Brauer, there is a lack of clear procedures for staff members, and given the difficult nature of the job, this has resulted in high turnover rates.
“It’s just an unhealthy thing, and that is something that I think that we’ve lost a lot of really good employees over,” Brauer said. “I think getting some policies and procedures written down so people know the expectations and they know that they can work and do their jobs and do them well.”
Brauer added that staff members are not being paid for the time they spend at work. At the moment, Brauer typically works a 60-hour week but said she is only compensated for 40 of those, an issue she noted that Northrup and Thuney have ignored.
“The office (of) the previous coroner and the current coroner have gotten around this because nobody would go and complain,” Brauer said.
As the county coroner, Brauer emphasized that she will ensure people are paid for every hour they work and try to expand the size of the office. Five deputy coroners are currently working under the county coroner, but she would look to increase the number to eight and add another full-time office worker.
“The problem is we’re severely understaffed,” Brauer said. “For instance, if one person takes a day off, there’s almost always going to be overtime because we don’t even have a minimum staffing. That ties into (what) I’ve said, and I will stand by this, starting if I get elected, on Dec. 1, everyone gets paid for every hour they work, period.”
Brauer has been officially endorsed by Julie Pryde, the public health administrator for the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, and the Champaign County chapter of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations.
