Kendall County Sheriff Dwight Baird to endorse Undersheriff Bobby Richardson for sheriff

After being Kendall County Sheriff since 2014, Dwight Baird will not run for reelection when his term ends next year.

He is endorsing Kendall County Undersheriff Bobby Richardson for the post. Richardson will formally kick off his campaign at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Kendall County Courthouse in Yorkville.

In an email, Baird said he will formally announce at that time that he is not running for reelection and that he is endorsing Richardson for Kane County Sheriff. Richardson began his career in law enforcement in 2007 as a patrol deputy at the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office.

No other candidates have announced they plan to run for sheriff in the November 2026 election. Richardson is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, where he served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He has worked his way up through the ranks. In November 2019, he was promoted by Baird to the rank of undersheriff and currently oversees the Operations Division of the Sheriff’s Office.

Prior to becoming Sheriff, Baird was the Oswego police chief for almost 12 years. He started his law enforcement career in 1990 when he was hired by the Kendall County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy.