Rhodes wins Fulton County Coroner Race
FULTON COUNTY, Ill. (WMBD) — Democratic Incumbent Austin Rhodes has secured his first elected term as Fulton County Coroner.
Rhodes won with 55 percent of the vote compared to Republican challenger Cole Murphy's nearly 45 percent. That was 8,689 votes for Rhodes and 7,074 votes for Murphy.
Rhodes was appointed Fulton County Coroner in February 2023, when he took over for Steve Hines.
He'd worked as the deputy coroner of the office for seven years. He is a Nationally Certified Medico-Legal Death Investigator, and an appointed member of the Illinois Fatality Review Team and Child Infant Death and Review Team.
Professionally, Rhodes is a Licensed Paramedic and Lead EMS instructor.
His opponent, Murphy has a degree in mortuary science and has worked in the field for more than two decades. He is the Funeral Director/Embalmer at Sedgwick Funeral Homes. He lives in Canton and this is his first run for public office.
