Illinois State Police history

The Illinois State Police began service to the state with the appointment of the first director, John J. Stack, and the first eight men as highway patrol officers on April 1, 1922.

At first, Nuckolls was the only officer deployed to the area, but he was joined by John Goveia of Springfield later in 1923.

In 1931, the Illinois General Assembly authorized the Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, which would ultimately become the Illinois State Police forensic lab system and the Bureau of Identification.

On July 17, 1941, the first state police cadet class began their three-week training program at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

In an effort to remove political affiliation from the State Police hiring and promotional process, the State Police Merit Board was formed on July 1, 1949.

On January 1, 1951, the Illinois Highway Maintenance Police was renamed Illinois State Highway Patrol, still within the Department of Public Safety.

J. Frank Nuckolls (the “J.” stood for “John”) died in a fall in Springfield in 1954.

In 1957, the Illinois General Assembly increased the authorized headcount of the state police to 1,100 and authorized hiring 100 additional officers under contract to the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.

The Division of Narcotic Control was created within the Department of Public Safety in 1958 to confront the rising tide of controlled substance abuse and crime.

On July 1, 1963, the Board began a recruiting program that included qualification standards for women.

On January 1, 1970, the Illinois State Highway Patrol began operating under the newly created Department of Law Enforcement.

In 1972, the 50th anniversary, finds the ISP had become a leader in law enforcement across the nation.

Legislation effective July 1, 1977, which reorganized the Department of Law Enforcement, was responsible for abolishing the State Police Merit Board and establishing a new board entitled the Department of Law Enforcement Merit Board.

Executive Order Number 3 of 1985 by Governor James R. Thompson, renamed the Department of Law Enforcement to the Department of State Police.

On November 1, 1989, House Bill 44, introduced by Representative Wayne Goforth, was passed, separating the Board from the Illinois State Police.

The Illinois Uniform Conviction Information Act was passed on January 1, 1991, and it mandates that all conviction information must be maintained and disseminated in a uniform manner by the State of Illinois through the Bureau of Identification.

By 1997, the 75th anniversary, the Illinois State Police had grown to 2,124 men and women officers and 1,680 support personnel.

In 2003, after 9/11, the Illinois State Police received authority and funding to create the Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center providing criminal intelligence to local, state, and federal law enforcement and homeland security agencies.

The dream of the ISPHF became a reality in 2004 when property was purchased for a Museum.

The Museum opened to the public April 1, 2005.

During 2010 the two small houses used for office and storage space were demolished and the remaining house became the ISPHF office.

Another dream of the Foundation became a reality when the Memorial Park was officially dedicated on October 2, 2018.

In August 2019, Executive Order 2019-12 was issued to build upon the legislative restructuring of the ISP, allowing the organization’s leadership to streamline and better focus their roles in the justice system over the next century.

In January 2020 the Museum and office property was sold.