The Illinois State Police Merit Board has set the requirements and standards by which any police officer will be selected and trained in Illinois. After a candidate is found to have met the requirements and the education requirements (listed in the following section) then they may apply for employment as a Illinois police officer. The process for evaluating new candidates is lengthy and includes a written test, a physical ability test, a psychological test and a medical exam. If you meet or exceed all requirements, you may be selected to attend academy training at one of the following academies in Illinois:

  • Chicago Police Academy – Chicago
  • Cook County Sheriff’s Police Academy – River Grove
  • Illinois State Police Academy – Springfield
  • Police Training Institute – Champaign
  • Southwestern Police Academy – Belleville
  • Suburban Law Enforcement Academy – Glen Ellyn

Requirements for How to Become an Illinois Police Officer

As far as the requirements for Illinois officers go, most are similar to other states, applicants have to be US citizens, have a valid driver’s license and be at least 21. If these requirements are met and a person has a clean background check then the only other major requirement that Illinois has is education. Illinois (unlike most other states) requires that police officer applicants have one of the following:

  • A bachelor’s degree, OR
  • An associate’s degree AND 3 consecutive years with the same police department or 3 consecutive years in military service, OR
  • Has no education but was honorably discharged from the military and has one of the qualifying medals, or serves with the National Guard and has one of the qualifying medals

It is important to follow these education guidelines or you won’t be a viable candidate for police work. Illinois takes the education portion of their requirements very seriously. Anyone who was dishonorably discharged from the military will not be considered for employment in law enforcement in the state of Illinois.

Police Officer Salaries in Illinois

In Illinois the average salary for a patrol officer is around 70,000 a year. However this number is a bit misleading as most officers do not make near that amount in Illinois, but the pay difference between a rural areas and say, Chicago, is drastically different. Police officers in a rural area of Illinois may make as low as 33,000 a year, whereas Chicago area officers make an average of 72,660. As for Detectives and Criminal Investigators: the average salary is around 81,640 in Illinois. Again that number reflects that detectives in Chicago make more, and detectives in less populated areas make substantially less than the average.

Illinois Law Enforcement Training

Since Illinois requires more education than most states for becoming a police officer, we have included some schools which have criminal justice degree or other related law enforcement schooling programs:

  • Argosy University

Chicago, IL / Schaumburg, IL- 866-290-2777

  • Aurora University

347 South Gladstone Avenue, Aurora, IL 60506

630-892-6431

  • Blackburn College

700 College Avenue, Carlinville, IL 62626

217-854-3231

  • College of DuPage

425 Fawell Blvd., Glen Ellyn, IL 60137

630-942-2800

  • Danville Area Community College

Locations across Illinois- 217-443-3222

  • Eureka College

300 E College Avenue, Eureka, IL 61530

309-467-3721

  • Governors State University

1 University Parkway, University Park, IL 60484

708-534-5000

  • Greenville College

315 E College Avenue, Greenville, IL 62246

618-664-2800

  • Illinois Eastern Community Colleges

Mount Carmel, IL / Olney, IL / Robinson, IL- 618-393-2982

  • Illinois State University

100 North University Street, Normal, IL 61761

309-438-2111

  • ITT Technical Institute

Burr Ridge, IL / Mount Prospect, IL / Orland Park, IL- 630-455-6470

  • Lewis University

One University Parkway, Romeoville, IL 60446

800-897-9000

  • Lincoln College

300 Keckuk Street, Lincoln, IL 63656

217-732-3155

  • Loyola University Chicago

1032 W Sheridan Road, Chicago, IL 60660

773-274-3000

  • MacMurray College

447 E College Avenue, Jacksonville, IL 62650

217-479-7000

  • Millikin University

1184 West Main Street, Decatur, IL 62522

217-424-6211

  • Northeastern Illinois University

5500 North St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625

773-583-4050

  • Olivet Nazarene University

One University Avenue, Bourbionnais, IL 60914

800-648-1463

  • Quincy University

1800 College Avenue, Quincy, IL 62301

217-222-8020

  • Rasmussen College

Aurora, IL / Rockford, IL- 815-316-4800

  • Robert Morris University

401 S State Street, Chicago, IL 60605

800-762-5960

  • Roosevelt University

430 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60605

312-341-3500

  • Saint Xavier University

3700 West 103rd Street, Chicago, IL 60655

773-298-3000

  • Southern Illinois University-Carbondale

1220 Douglas Drive, Carbondale, IL 62901

618-453-2121

  • Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville

State Route 157, Edwardsville, IL 62026

618-650-3705

  • University of Illinois at Chicago 

1200 West Harrison Street, Chicago, IL 60607

312-996-7000

  • University of Illinois-Springfield

One University Plaza, Spingfield, IL 62703

217-206-6600

  • Waubonsee Community College

Route 47 at Waubonsee Drive, Sugar Grove, IL 60554

630-466-7900

  • Western Illinois University

1 University Circle, Macomb, IL 61455

309-298-1414