CHICAGO — Whether it was allowing visitors to disfigure his portrait or holding fundraising sleepovers in his southwestern Illinois jail, longtime St. Clair County Sheriff Mearl J. Justus was known for his dry humor and savvy yet sometimes unconventional politics.

He considered his career-appropriate name — Sheriff Justus — a badge of honor and earned a reputation for creativity and charity during his nearly six decades in law enforcement, including 30 years as sheriff. But he also was known as a practical joker.

He once sent notices to fugitives on his outstanding warrant list, telling them they were eligible for a pair of sneakers at a new shoe shop, then had deputies waiting to arrest them as they came by, recalled his longtime friend and successor Sheriff Rick Watson.