By Eric A Thomas
The Morgan County Republican Central Committee submitted Sills’ name to be appointed Morgan County Clerk after Jill Waggener announced her retirement, which was effective August 30, 2024.
The submission was made to the Morgan County Commissioners, and Sills was approved on September 23. Sills was officially sworn into office on September 26 as the Morgan County Clerk.
Sills began her career in the Morgan County Clerk’s office in 2015. “My duties, at that time, were split between working in the clerk’s office as well as the county treasurer’s office,” shared Sills. “In 2016, my responsibilities just concerned the county clerk’s office.” In 2023, Waggener appointed Sills as Chief Deputy County Clerk.
Sills is a longtime resident of Jacksonville, where she resides with her husband of 19 years, Doug Sills, retired Jacksonville Fire Department Fire Chief. They have three grown children: Ross, Steven and Taylor.
“I am originally from Hardin, Illinois, where I graduated from high school,” Sherry Sills adds. “After graduation, I moved to Jacksonville.” The Sills enjoy camping, biking, boating and taking long walks with their two fur babies, Murphy and Izzy.
Sherry Sills also enjoys volunteering and community involvement. She is a member of Jacksonville Elks Lodge #682. Over the past five years, she has volunteered as a lodge officer, and during that time she served as the second female Exalted Ruler in Elks Lodge history. During her membership, she has organized fundraising activities for the lodge’s charitable giving that are focused on the community’s needs. Sills currently serves as a trustee on the Jacksonville Elks Lodge #682 Board of Directors.
Sills says that early voting in the State of Illinois began September 26. Persons wanting to participate in early voting may do so at the Morgan County Courthouse by coming to the Morgan County Clerk’s office. The hours of the office are 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. There are also some Saturday dates when one can vote between 8:30 a.m. and noon; people need to contact the office to find out those dates. The office can be reached at 217-243-8581.
Those wishing to vote by mail may request a ballot by email; those requests can be made to ssills@morgancounty-il.com. Once the office has received an email, they will send a mail-in ballot through the U.S. Postal Service.
“Early voting has been a popular way for people to cast their vote,” concludes Sills. “We expect the numbers to be similar to those in the past elections but less than the COVID[-19] years.”
Other duties handled in the Morgan County Clerk’s office include recording of records and handling requests for birth, marriage and death certificates. They handle all marriage licenses, providing requested copies of records, back taxes and tax sanctions.
