By Bridgette Fox
Jacksonville Journal-Courier, Ill.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois State Police has sworn in its largest class of cadets in 25 years, and some of those troopers are coming to west-central Illinois.
The agency said 95 troopers were sworn in Friday. The largest chunk of troopers, 33 of them, are heading to Collinsville to join Troop 8. A single trooper from the pool is off to help cover both Springfield and Pittsfield.
“It’s a privilege to swear in the largest ISP cadet class in the past 25 years,” ISP Director Brendan Kelly said. “Law enforcement agencies across the country can struggle to hire new officers, but we continue to rise above that challenge because of our values of integrity, service, and pride to now commission the largest class so far in the 21st century.”
The agency said the new troopers began working on Sunday.
Cadet Class 150 reportedly was made up of people in different-length programs. A shorter 12-week program was for 52 officers who already had worked in law enforcement for two years. The other program, considered the “traditional class,” was 29 weeks and had 43 cadets. There also is field training with mentors for the cadets.
Since 2019, 692 troopers have joined ISP, according to the agency.
“I am proud to congratulate Cadet Class 150 on their graduation and commend them on their commitment to the people of Illinois ,” Gov. JB Pritzker said.
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