Illinois State Police on fast track to open forensic science institute in Belleville
The new Illinois State Police Forensic Science Institute that’s being established at Belleville Educational Center won’t require much renovation.
That’s according to ISP Director Brendan Kelly, who appeared Friday at a press conference with Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other officials at the ISP Forensic Science Laboratory in Belleville.
The center formerly served as a satellite campus of Lindenwood University and, long before that, Belleville Township High School. The city of Belleville bought it for $3 million last year.
ISP is one of four tenants announced so far. It will rent 4,416 square feet of office, classroom and laboratory space in the main building under its five-year intergovernmental agreement with the city.
“It’s not a drastic overhaul at all,” Kelly said Friday. “... This year, we’ll have people in there getting trained. This is real. This is happening.”
ISP will pay $68,000 in rent the first year with 2% annual increases.
Other tenants include Southwestern Illinois College, which will manage the center and move in its police academy; the Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission; and Southwest Illinois Jets Basketball Club.
The rental agreement made “perfect sense” for ISP, which had been looking for a place to train more forensic scientists, according to Kelly.
He called it “just the beginning.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be a one-time investment here,” Kelly said. “ I think we’re going to see other opportunities. We’re going to work with everybody in the General Assembly and the governor and possibly return (to the) budget process to figure out what other opportunities are here for us to build on.”
The ISP Forensic Science Institute is considered a key part of Pritzker’s efforts to bring justice for victims of sexual assault.
Pritzker, a Democrat, blamed former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner for staff shortages and other problems that led to a former backlog of hundreds of sexual-assault cases that were waiting for processing of DNA evidence.
Pritzker called it “legally and morally unacceptable” that some victims waited years for justice, only to discover that DNA evidence collected in their cases had been misplaced or lost.
“Today, I am proud to announce that the DNA backlog of sexual-assault cases is zero,” Pritzker said.
The massive brick complex at 2300 W. Main St. originally housed Belleville Township High School and later Belleville West. Missouri-based Lindenwood operated from 2003 to 2020.
Other speakers at the press conference Friday included Illinois Sen. Christopher Belt, D-Swansea; Illinois Rep. LaToya Greenwood, D-East St. Louis; and Carrie Ward, executive director of the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
Belleville Mayor Patty Gregory stood with the governor but didn’t speak.
“Stable, sustainable investments in forensic science will allow ISP to continue processing evidence in a timely manner and put those who commit crimes behind bars and bring justice to victims,” Kelly said.
This story was originally published June 3, 2022 at 5:42 PM.
