Seana Scheid says one terrifying night at Oakbrook Center convinced her that public safety cannot be taken for granted.
The Oak Brook mother, who was locked down inside Gibson’s with her 3-year-old during the 2021 shooting, is backing Sean Noonan for sheriff over Peter Coolidge, who faces scrutiny over his record.
“I support Sean for our next DuPage County Sheriff,” Scheid told the DuPage Policy Journal.
“As an Oak Brook resident, I believe we need a sheriff who will prioritize keeping our streets, businesses, and community safe. Actions have consequences, and we need to make sure anyone who comes to Oak Brook intending to commit a crime understands that.”
Scheid said her support is shaped in part by personal experience with a mass-casualty incident in the community.
“My family and I were at Gibson’s the night of the mall shooting with our then-3-year-old. We were placed on lockdown and couldn’t leave,” she said.
The shooting Scheid described occurred on Dec. 23, 2021, when Tryan Williams and Steve Lane opened fire on each other near Nordstrom at Oakbrook Center amid a dispute that began on social media. The gunfire wounded three women and an 18-year-old broke her ankle fleeing.
State’s Attorney Robert Berlin called the men’s conduct “an unconscionable degree of violence.”
In May 2026, Lane was sentenced to 18 years in prison. Williams, also wounded that night, was later shot and killed in Chicago in 2024.
“I will never forget the fear, uncertainty, and emotions we experienced as parents trying to keep our child safe while not knowing what was happening,” Scheid said.
She also pointed to the economic stakes for the village.
“Oak Brook has worked hard to build a strong community and a thriving business environment. If businesses and stores leave, our community loses jobs, services, and tax revenue,” she said.
“We need leadership that will protect our residents, support our businesses, and keep our town safe and orderly.”
“That’s why I support Sean for DuPage County Sheriff. We need someone who will take public safety seriously and stand up for the communities he serves.”
Scheid is one of several DuPage County women who have contacted the DuPage Policy Journal to say they cannot support Coolidge, in the wake of revelations about his past conduct involving stalking-related and infidelity-related issues.
Police records obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request show Coolidge was the subject of a 2018 harassment complaint filed with the Winfield Police Department.
A woman identified as a Central DuPage Hospital employee told officers she had received weeks of unwanted texts and Facebook messages from Coolidge after asking him to stop, but the messages continued.
She later found a card he had signed left in a bag on her car’s windshield — a discovery she said prompted her to go to police “for her own protection.” She declined to press charges but asked for no further contact. An investigating officer attempted to reach Coolidge by phone to warn him to stay away, but Coolidge refused to return his calls. It was only after the investigating officer saw Coolidge in his official role working security at the DuPage County Courthouse that they spoke about the incident and Coolidge agreed to comply.
A separate Aurora Police Department report shows Coolidge was interviewed by detectives two days after the March 2014 strangulation death of jail nurse Heather Jacobi, with whom he was allegedly having an affair.
Jacobi’s ex-boyfriend, Jose Loera, became enraged after seeing a “good night beautiful” Facebook message from Coolidge appear on her phone, confronted her and strangled her with a scarf.
Coolidge turned over screenshots of his messages with Jacobi and gave a recorded statement to detectives. Loera was later sentenced to 48 years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree murder. Coolidge and his first wife divorced a year after Jacobi’s death.
Coolidge is also currently a defendant in a federal excessive-force lawsuit stemming from a 2024 courthouse security screening incident.
A federal judge ruled in August that a jury must decide whether Coolidge used excessive force and committed battery against a man he allegedly tackled and slammed into the ground while working security at the DuPage County Courthouse.
Coolidge retired from the Sheriff’s Office after 28 years on the force in the wake of the incident.
His campaign has continued to emphasize his law-enforcement career and close alignment with DuPage County Democrats as he seeks to become DuPage County’s first Democratic sheriff since 1839.
His association with Undersheriff Eddie Moore, the former Republican sheriff candidate whose own campaign was dogged by an incident in which he allegedly reeked of alcohol after running over the leg of a pedestrian while driving away from a late-night Valentine’s Day dinner and a 2021 bar altercation, has drawn additional scrutiny after Coolidge was seen campaigning alongside him.
Noonan, an Oakbrook Terrace police officer with more than 23 years in law enforcement and a former DuPage County Board member, has branded his campaign “A Sheriff For Everyone.” He is running on a reform message.
The Nov. 3 general election will determine whether Coolidge becomes DuPage County’s first Democratic sheriff in nearly two centuries, or whether Noonan succeeds outgoing Sheriff James Mendrick’s office under Republican leadership.
