John Cotton Promoted To Sergeant

The Effingham County Sheriff's Office would like to announce the recent promotion of Deputy John Cotton to Sergeant.

In his new position, Sergeant Cotton will supervise a shift of Patrol Deputies, ensuring the quality of service, adherence to Sheriff's Office policy and standards, and reviewing Police reports before they are submitted for record.

Cotton served thirteen years as a sworn Police Officer in Altamont before he was hired here as a Deputy Sheriff in 2020. In 2021, he was assigned to Investigations as a Detective.

Sergeant Cotton is a 2008 Graduate of the University of Illinois Police Training Institute's Basic Law Enforcement Academy. During his Law Enforcement career, Sergeant Cotton has served as an ILEAS SWAT team operator, and as a Task Force Officer with Homeland Security Investigations. He is also a Certified U.S. Customs Officer and a Lead Homicide Investigator.

John and his family reside in rural Effingham County.

Sheriff Kuhns adds that "Our front-line supervisors are the backbone of our organization. They are the people that do the hard work and make sure we stay safe in the middle of the night and on holidays. John will meet this challenge and he came to us with a good amount of experience and knowledge. We have capitalized on that and we will greatly miss him serving as a Detective because he has done a great job, but it's time for him to share his knowledge and experience as a supervisor".