 Patrick Keen, interim director of
the Illinois State Police, told a
state appropriations committee in the House that his department's
proposed budget for the next fiscal year calculates gasoline at
about $3.35 a gallon. Gas at the pump is hovering above that cost
right now, thanks in part to recent turmoil in the Middle East.
"If gas prices do continue to increase -- if they get to around $4 a
gallon -- then we will have to ... think about what we're going to
do. But, possibly, we'll have to go back to some of the things we
did in 2008 when gas prices were high," Keen said.
Stationary patrols and requiring officers to double up when
traveling are possibilities, according to Keen. Another option is to
come back to the General Assembly and ask for more money. Keen said
it all depends on how high gas prices get and how long the prices
remain high.
Mike Powell, president of Troopers Lodge 41, said that of the
state's current regiment of 1,800 officers, nearly 1,000 are on
patrol duty.
Keeping cops off the street isn't the answer, according to state
Rep. JoAnn Osmond, R-Antioch.
"My son is a police officer up in Wisconsin, and I've heard the
gripes from him. So I know how ineffective that is," she said.
Gov. Pat Quinn's proposed budget has the state police getting
$402 million for the next fiscal year. This is down from the $404
million that was appropriated for the department last year. One area
zeroed out this year is a new cadet class.
"The reason we did not put a cadet (class) in here was because of
funding," said Luis Tigera, first deputy director of the Illinois
State Police.
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Cutting this year's class saves about $4.6 million in the short
term, according to Keen. But it also means that as troopers retire
or quit, their positions won't be filled. During the coming year,
134 officers will be eligible for retirement, according to Powell.
He added that the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police considers
the ranks fully staffed when there are about 2,300 officers.
"There's a lot of districts that have extremely low staffing
right now, and I think we're doing the citizens of Illinois an
injustice by not starting to put classes through," Powell said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]
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