View as PDF Chicago—Taxpayers United of America (TUA) today released its analysis of the impact of the Illinois State Police on the state’s budget.
“Illinois has the most bloated state police force in the region,” stated president of TUA, Jim Tobin.
“According to the most recent BLS Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, Illinois has 2,105 sworn officers, by far the most in the Midwest. Trailing Illinois are Michigan with 1,732; Ohio 1,560; Indiana 1,350; Missouri 1,028; Iowa 669; Minnesota 530; and Wisconsin with 492.”
“The vast majority of these sworn officers do nothing but generate revenue for their own overly-generous salaries and pensions by issuing expensive traffic tickets with unreasonable fines while the rest run illegal road blocks and checkpoints for local police. Many Illinois State Police even work the precincts for powerful politicians,” added Tobin.
“According to the Illinois State Police Merit Board, trooper trainees get a starting annual salary of $32,076 while in the training academy and jump to a whopping starting salary of $57,708!”
“It’s ludicrous that we would hire so many ticket writers, but then to pay them so lavishly really shows the lack of common sense and concern for the taxpayers’ money and the state budget.”
“Time magazine reports that the national average salary, for all police officers, is $56,980 and yet here in Illinois we start state police pay well above the national average.”
“Our most recent study of the ISP pensions revealed that all of the top 200 state police pensions were over $102,000! And that rich pension starts around the age of 52 and comes with fully paid Cadillac-healthcare.”
“Here are some numbers all of us can understand and why the pension system is bankrupt: John Lofton, of the Ill. State Police, retired at a ripe old age of 58. His annual pension is a stunning $134,026, which will accumulate to about $4.2 million over a normal lifetime. Not a bad return for a 3.6% personal investment!”
“Timothy Becker’s annual pension is $120,672. Over a normal lifetime, his total payout will exceed $7.3 million because he retired at only 50 years of age. His personal investment in his estimated lifetime payout is only 2.8%.”
“We could save billions by putting the Illinois State Police in line, both in numbers and in pay, with the majority of state police departments.”
“And of course, we need to end the defined benefit pension system for ISP and all state employees,” concluded Tobin.

By on July 22, 2015   /   Illinois, Items of Interest, Latest, Pension Reform, Taxpayer Alert  
2 Comments
  1. Tough Love
    9:38 pm on July 23, 2015

    Quoting …. ““And of course, we need to end the defined benefit pension system for ISP and all state employees,” concluded Tobin.”
    Indeed …. the grossly excessive DB system must be frozen for all CURRENT Public Sector workers EVERYWHERE.

  2. John Crivellone
    11:28 pm on March 9, 2016

    The Illinois State Police is a bloated bureaucracy that is a political patronage dumping ground. I recently reviewed the budget and noticed a Sargent making over $200, 000. Most put in overtime just before retirement to bloat their pensions as you described.
    Moreover, my son had recently applied and went through a one year grueling vetting process. His qualifications were superior to all others. He graduated at the top of his high school class, was captain of the track and cross country teams, won scholarships to college for academics and sports, he was recruited by West Point, Anapolis and the United Stares Marine Corps, he graduated top of his class from the University of Illinois, he was in graduate school when he applied with the ISP, during his recruitment process he broke the ISP all timerecord for running the mile and a half. He was oriented and measured for his uniform. Two weeks before he was to go to the academy a cranky Sargent told him that they had too many people and not enough slots in the academy. Shortly there after he received a call from a jerk lieutenant that he did not pass the psychological evaluation. My son asked to see it but ISP refused to show it. We initiated FOIA but they continued to refuse. Many less qualified cadets, that we were later to learn that has political sponsores got in. The academy drop out rate was then 26% for that clas, the highest if any police academy on the state of Illinois. The average drop out rate is 22% highest in Illinois. Very interesting. Nice juicy jobs if you know the right people!!