Lake County voters will elect a coroner in November, choosing between an incumbent Democrat and a Republican challenger.
Coroner Jennifer Banek is seeking re-election to a second term in office on Nov. 5, and she is running against Mark Symonds, a funeral home owner and operator.
Banek, who grew up in the Mundelein area, is a nurse anesthesiologist. She said she decided to run for coroner in 2020 out of a sense of service like the one that spurred her 16-year military career as a major in the Army Reserve.
Jennifer Banek / HANDOUT
Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek– Original Credit: News-Sun
“I think it comes from a deep-seated interest in serving your community and your neighbors,” she said.
The coroner’s office determines the manner and cause of death in cases of accidents, homicides and non-obvious deaths. But Banek said her term in office has opened her eyes to how the coroner’s job in death investigations intersects with public health issues, and how the coroner can help in preventing deaths.
“I tell people that my job is to put myself out of a job,” she said. “My intention is for people to not come through my office.”
During her first term, Banek said the coroner’s office has networked with several groups including Missing Pieces, a support group for women and families who have lost children.
The coroner’s office has also expanded its relationship with Gift of Hope, a tissue and organ donation service. By linking computers, the coroner’s office immediately alerts Gift of Hope to possible donor situations, which are time-sensitive. In 2023, that partnership led to 24 donations. An organ and tissue donor can help up to 25 people, so the program helped hundreds of people, Banek said.
In a second term, Banek said she wants to continue with opioid initiatives to reduce fentanyl overdoses. Her office will work with a new county opioid coordinator, as well as law enforcement, she said. She also wants to improve the data dashboard on the coroner’s website that tracks vital statistics from her office.
Her opponent, Symonds, is an owner and operator of two family-owned funeral homes in Lake County.
“I grew up over a funeral home for the first 30 years of life,” he said.
Symonds says he was encouraged to run for the office by a former Lake coroner and several other people. He also said he had an interaction several years ago with Banek, whom he said was “not pleasant.”
He declined to provide additional details. Banek said she does not remember ever meeting Symonds.
Symonds said that if elected, he will conduct thorough and accurate death investigations, and treat the bereaved families who come into contact with the office with sympathy and compassion.
To that end, he said he would assemble a team of volunteers to work with the coroner’s office to provide spiritual support and counseling to the families with whom the office comes in contact.
Symonds also said that he sees an educational facet for the coroner’s office in areas like suicide prevention. He said he would put on programs for high school children that can warn them about the dangers of opioid and other drug use, as well as things like rail safety.
