Peoria County Coroner's Office Staff

Jamie Harwood, Peoria County Coroner

Jamie Harwood is a Registered Nurse with 24 years of nursing experience.  Jamie graduated from Methodist School of Nursing in 1997 with a Diploma in Nursing, and in 2015, graduated from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing.  While studying at Penn State, Jamie completed course work in Forensic Nursing, and Certified as a Forensic Nurse in 2016.  He has spent most of his nursing career in Emergency Medicine, Trauma and Critical Care.  Jamie is currently one of 10 Registered Nurses in Illinois who is also an elected Coroner. 

Jamie is currently the President of the Illinois Coroner and Medical Examiners Board.  He is the Chairperson of the Tri-County Death Review Board, investigating deaths related to victims of abuse or neglect; he is an active Committeeman and data contributor  for the Illinois Violent Death Reporting System sponsored by Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, a group that supports research in the investigation of all violent deaths and drug overdoses; as a living kidney donor, Jamie sits on the Community Advisory Board with the Gift of Hope, and on the Gift of Hope Coroner Advisory Board of Illinois; Jamie is an active participant in Whitney’s Walk for suicide prevention, and was selected the Honorary Chair for the 2019 walk/run; Jamie was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus of Methodist College of Nursing for 2019, is a current board member of the College Board; Jamie is an active member and past board secretary of the Downtown Peoria Rotary Club. 

In his free time, Jamie likes to spend time with his husband Jonathan, and three kids, Hunter (22) Hope (18), and Jacob (4 1/2), as well as his extended family. He enjoys research in death investigations, continuing education, Penn State Football, Chicago Cubs baseball, traveling, reading, and an occasional karaoke song.