Illinois State Police

Illinois State Police
The current Illinois State Police patch, adopted in 1988.
The current Illinois State Police patch, adopted in 1988.
Seal of the Illinois State Police
Seal of the Illinois State Police
Badge of an ISP trooper
Badge of an ISP trooper
Flag of the Illinois State Police
Flag of the Illinois State Police
AbbreviationISP
MottoIntegrity, Service, Pride
Agency overview
FormedApril 1, 1922; 102 years ago (1922-04-01)
Employees2,702 (as of April 1, 2022)[1][failed verification]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionIllinois, U.S.
Size57,918 sq mi (140,998 km2)
Population12,671,821 (2020 est.)
Legal jurisdictionState of Illinois
Governing bodyGovernor of Illinois
General nature
Operational structure
Overseen byIllinois State Police Merit Board
Headquarters801 South Seventh Street
Springfield, Illinois
Troopers1,803 (as of April 1, 2022)[1][failed verification]
Civilian members899 (as of April 1, 2022)[1][failed verification]
Agency executive
  • Brendan F. Kelly, Director
Facilities
Troops
11
  • 1: Pecatonica, Sterling
  • 2: La Salle, East Moline
  • 3: Des Plaines, Elgin, Joliet
  • 4: Macomb, Metamora
  • 5: Pontiac, Ashkum
  • 6: Springfield, Pittsfield
  • 7: Pesotum
  • 8: Collinsville, Litchfield
  • 9: Effingham, Carmi
  • 10: DuQuoin, Ullin
  • 15: Downers Grove
Patrol carsFord Explorer, Expedition, Taurus, Chevy Caprice, Dodge Chargers, and Harley Davidson motorcycles
Website
isp.illinois.gov

The Illinois State Police (ISP) is the state police agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. The Illinois State Police is responsible for traffic safety on more than 300,000 miles of total roadway, including 2,185 miles of interstate highways and 15,969 miles of state highways. Currently, almost 3,000 sworn and civilian personnel make up the Illinois State Police.

Troops and organization

Troops of the ISP
Demographics comparison
ISP[2]
Male 72%
Female 28%
White 82%
Black or African-American 9%
Hispanic 7%
Asian 2%

Organization

The Illinois State Police is currently organized into several divisions, commands, offices and bureaus:

  • Office of the Director:[3]
    • First Deputy Director
      • Chief of Staff
        • Office of Equal Employment Opportunity
        • Office of Finance
        • Office of Human Resources
        • Office and Inspection & Audits
        • Office of Labor Relations and Special Projects
        • Legal Office
        • Deputy Chief of Staff for Special Counsels Major Case Counsel
          • Firearms Safety Office Counsel
        • Deputy Chief of Staff for External Affairs Senior Public Safety Policy Advisor
          • Office of Governmental Affairs
          • Executive Office
          • Public Information Office
        • Deputy Chief of Staff Office of Operational & Strategic Planning
          • Executive Protection Unit
          • Office of Strategic Planning & Special Projects
          • Office of Research & Development
  • Division of Justice Services (Colonel):[4]
    • Administrative Support Command
      • Logistics
      • Department of Innovation and Technology
    • Criminal Justice Services Command
      • Bureau of Identification
      • Program Administration Bureau
    • Public Safety services Command
      • Firearms Services Bureau
      • Regulatory Services Bureau
  • Division of Forensic Services (Deputy Director):[5]
    • Chief of Staff
      • Fiscal Administrator
      • Personnel Administrator
      • Case File Administrator (FOIA)
    • Assistant Deputy Director
      • Forensic Sciences Command
      • Crime Scene & Evidence Services Command
      • Quality Assurance
  • Division of Internal Investigation (Deputy Director):[6]
    • Administrative Services Command
      • Background Investigations Unit
      • Identified Offender Program
    • Northern Command
    • Southern Command
  • Division of Patrol (Colonel):[7]
    • Patrol Operations Command
      • North Central Patrol Command
        • Troops 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
      • Chicago Patrol Command
        • Troops 3,15
      • Southern Patrol Command
        • Troops 7, 8, 9, 10
    • Strategic Operations Command
      • Support Servies Command
        • Special Operations
          • SAVE
          • H.I.T.
        • Support Services
          • Criminal Patrol
          • Motorcycle Enforcement Bureau
          • Vehicle Investigations Coordinator
          • Commercial Vehicle Section
          • Crowd Control
          • Administrative Support
        • Protective Service Unit
  • Division of Criminal Investigation (Colonel):[8]
    • Investigative Command
      • Research & Development
      • Northern Major
        • Zones 1, 2, 3
      • Central Major
        • Zones 4, 5
      • Southern Major
        • Zones 6, 7, 8
    • Support Command
      • Special Operations Command/Air Operations
      • Medical Fraud Bureau
      • Investigative Support Command
      • Intelligence Command
      • Special Investigation Unit
      • Statewide Gaming Command
    • Chief of Staff
      • Deputy Chief of Staff
        • Statewide Investigative Training Special Projects Coordinator
  • Division of the Academy and Training (Colonel):[9]
    • Staff/Special Projects Officer
      • Honor Guard
        • Trumpet Team
        • Pipes & Drum Team
    • Academy Commander
      • Physical Skills Bureau
      • Recruitment and Substance Testing Bureau
      • Logistics Bureau
      • Training Development Bureau
  • Division Statewide 911 (Colonel):[10]
    • Statewide 911 Administrator
    • Assistant Deputy Director
      • Statewide 911 Bureau
      • Telecommunications Services Bureau
      • Radio Network Services Bureau
      • Fleet Services Bureau

Troops

The Illinois State Police reorganized from Districts into Troops, which went into effect on January 1, 2023:[11][12]

Troop Headquarters Counties Covered
1 Sterling, Pecatonica Carroll, Jo Daviess, Lee, Ogle, Stephenson, Whiteside, and Winnebago
2 LaSalle, East Moline Bureau, Henry, LaSalle, Mercer, Putnam, and Rock Island
3 Des Plaines, Elgin, Lockport Boone, Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy,Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will
4 Macomb, Metamora Fulton, Hancock, Henderson, Knox, Marshall, McDonough, Peoria, Stark, Tazewell, Warren, and Woodford
5 Ashkum, Pontiac DeWitt, Ford, Iroquois, Kankakee, Livingston, and McLean
6 Pittsfield, Springfield Adams, Brown, Cass, Christian, Logan, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Pike, Sangamon, Schuyler, and Scott
7 Pesotum Champaign, Coles, Douglas, Edgar, Macon, Moultrie, Piatt, Shelby and Vermilion
8 Collinsville, Litchfield Bond, Clinton, Calhoun, Greene, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery, Monroe, St. Clair, and Washington
9 Carmi, Effingham Clark, Clay, Crawford, Cumberland, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Hamilton, Jasper, Lawrence, Marion, Richland, Wabash, Wayne, and White
10 Du Quoin, Ullin Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Saline, Union and Williamson
15 Downers Grove Illinois State Tollways

Traffic enforcement

Illinois State Police currently use various methods for speed limit enforcement on Illinois highways. Hand-held and moving radar, LIDAR, pacing, air speed utilizing the ISP fleet of aircraft, and VASCAR. ISP uses typical marked units (Ford Explorer, Expedition, and Taurus, Chevrolet Caprice) as well as unmarked units. Since 2006, photo radar mounted in vans have been used for speed enforcement in construction zones statewide. Though the vans are manned by ISP officers, Conduent, a private company, provides the vans for a fee.

ISP has four Cessna 182 airplanes used for law enforcement efforts throughout the state. Three of the four aircraft are equipped with forward looking infrared cameras. All pilots assigned to the Air Operations Bureau began their career at ISP as Troopers.  ISP pilots respond to calls for service 24/7 and at no cost to the user agency.  Routine calls for service include but are not limited to missing persons searches, criminal manhunts, surveillance, pursuits, photo/video needs, civil unrest, patrol support, and transportation. Since 1959, ISP has also used aircraft for speed enforcement, using stopwatch time measurement.

Illinois State Police Merit Board

The Illinois State Police Merit Board (Merit Board) administers certification for the appointment and promotion of state police officers, as well as their discipline, removal, demotion, and suspension measures. The Merit Board consists of five civilian members appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the State Senate. Each member serves a six-year term and no more than three members may be affiliated with the same political party.

List of ISP superintendents and directors

Superintendents

  • John T. Stack (1922–1929)
  • Walter L. Moody (1929–1933)
  • Lawrence M. Taylor (1933–1935)†
  • Walter Williams (1935–1941)
  • Jesse H. Grissom (1941)
  • T.P. Sullivan (1941)
  • Leo M. Carr (1941–1942)
  • Harry Yde (1942–1945)
  • Harry I. Curtis (1945–1950)
  • Thomas J. O'Donnell (1950–1953)
  • Philip M. Brown (1953–1956)
  • William H. Morris (1956–1968)
  • Albert S. Hinds (1968–1969)
  • James T. McGuire (1969–1971)
  • Dwight E. Pitman (1971–1977)
  • Lynn E. Baird (1977–1979)
  • Ronald J. Miller (1979–1983)
  • Laimutis A. Nargelenas (1983–1987)

Directors

  • James B. Zagel (1980–1987)* Director of Department of Law Enforcement 1980–1985, Director of Department of State Police 1985-1987
  • Jeremy D. Margolis (1987–1991)[13]
  • Terrance W. Gainer (1991–1998)
  • Sam W. Nolen (1998–2003)
  • Larry G. Trent (2003–2009)
  • Jonathon E. Monken (2009–2011)
  • Hiram Grau (2011–2015)
  • Leo P. Schmitz (2015–2019)
  • Brendan F. Kelly (2019– )
 

Deaths

Since the establishment of the Illinois State Police, 67 troopers have died while on duty.[14]

Uniform and armament

Uniform patches of the ISP since 1939

The ISP uniform has a distinct look that separate it from its neighbors. Instead of a chocolate brown uniform worn by the Iowa State Patrol, or a light blue on dark blue uniform worn by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, ISP officers wear light tan/khaki shirts, and dark green pants with black trim. Dress uniforms include a jacket that matches the pants. The cold weather gear incorporates a brown, all-weather jacket. Leather duty gear consists of black high gloss clarino holsters, belts, and accessories. ISP officers wear a dark brown campaign hat called a Montana Peak.

The badge, instead of a traditional shield surmounted by an eagle design, is a six-pointed star that reads the rank of the trooper, and the words "Illinois State Police" in black, along with the officer's badge number (beginning in 2002). The badge's sequential inventory number is found stamped on the reverse side of the badge. The badges are silver or chrome plated steel for all ranks below sergeant, and gold plated for sergeant and above.

Officers are issued a Glock 22, .40 S&W caliber semiautomatic pistol as sidearms.

Rank insignia

Rank Insignia
Director
First Deputy Director
Colonel
Lieutenant Colonel
Major
Captain
Lieutenant
Master Sergeant
Sergeant
Master Trooper
Trooper First Class
Trooper

See also

Illinois State Police:

General:

Bibliography

  • Clark, Harry F. (1972), Illinois State Police: A Division of the Department of Law Enforcement, 1922-1972, Springfield, Ill.: State Police Benevolent Group, ISBN 978-1-934729-22-9, OCLC 417833
  • Illinois State Police (1997), Illinois State Police 75th, 1922-1997, Springfield, Ill.: Illinois State Police, ISBN 978-1-890105-00-6, OCLC 38965840

References

  1. ^ a b c USDOJ Statistics, 2004 Archived November 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics, 2000: Data for Individual State and Local Agencies with 100 or More Officers Archived September 27, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "ISP Strategic Plans". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  4. ^ "Justice Servises Organization". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  5. ^ "Forensics Organization". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  6. ^ "Division of Internal Investigation". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  7. ^ "Patrol Organization". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  8. ^ "Patrol Organization". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  9. ^ "Academy/Training Org Chart". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  10. ^ "The Statewide 911 Division". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  11. ^ [email protected], MIKE SORENSEN Herald-Whig Staff Writer (22 February 2023). "ISP shifts from patrol districts to patrol troops to better serve state". Herald-Whig. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  12. ^ "ISP Troop Map". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
  13. ^ "List of ISP Superintendents and Directors". isp.illinois.gov. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  14. ^ Illinois State Police Fallen Officers. Accessed March 4, 2021.