A bigger payday is on the way for new state troopers

Posted on March 25, 2024
New officers can receive a higher payout. (Photo courtesy: Illinois State Police/File)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – The newest Illinois state troopers can count on a bigger payday.

Illinois State Police director Brendan Kelly says graduates from the academy will get a starting salary of $90,000.

“Any young person – or even a person in the middle of changing careers – thinking about what what they want to do, they obviously have to weigh those various factors, including what their compensation is going to be,” said Kelly. “We want to make that decision a little bit easier for them, knowing that they will be receiving appropriate pay and benefits, so they can live a life an plan a life and have a good retirement as well.”

Kelly says this reflects the competition for good people, and the need to make service in the state police more of a career for everyone involved.

What’s more, police departments are in competition for the best men and women.

Kelly credited the state’s financial condition and string of balanced budgets for the ability to afford the higher salaries.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].

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