State Police, IDOT break ground on $14M training facility
[June 04, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – The Illinois State Police and the Illinois
Department of Transportation broke ground on a joint venture to build a
new training facility Wednesday, focused on traffic incident safety for
officers, first responders and highway workers.
The $14 million taxpayer-funded project is being constructed at ISP’s
Pawnee-based extension of the agency’s training academy.
According to ISP Director Brendan Kelly, the new training facility will
allow for law enforcement and first responders to train in a controlled
environment that closely resembles real-world conditions.
“When emergency responders are trained in how to position their
vehicles, identify the appropriate location to set up traffic cones and
place signs clearly directing traffic, motorists can safely navigate
past a crash, a roadway emergency, or even criminal activity,” Kelly
said.
Kelly noted multiple ISP troopers that have been killed in the line of
duty as a result of unsafe road conditions and distracted drivers. He
said the project is a result of those deaths, alongside the many deaths
of highway maintenance and construction crews that have taken place.
“While the Illinois State Police will maintain the [Traffic Incident
Management] track, it will be open to the Illinois Department of
Transportation as well as law enforcement and emergency response
agencies across the state,” Kelly said.
IDOT Secretary Gia Biagi said the project was incredibly important to
her and her agency.
“This is an incredibly serious issue. And that is why we need a
facility like this to make sure we're at our best in every possible
permutation of working and using our highway system,” Biagi said.
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Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly, center left, and
Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi, center
right, toss dirt alongside other project partners at the
groundbreaking for the ISP's new Traffic Incident Management
training facility in Central Illinois, June 3, 2026. Photo: Sean
Reed / The Center Square
Biagi also noted that the project is highly unique and few other
states have training facilities for road safety reaching the
magnitude and attention to detail as the project now underway in
Illinois.
Lt. Thomas Brengel said he personally knew and worked with some
officers that have died in the line of duty, and shared his
expectations for what the new facility will provide.
“While unfortunately we can't control every driver – through better
training, better visibility, scene management and better
coordination, we can reduce our exposure to those risks. We can
create safer work zones, we can anticipate hazards, and we can
respond in ways that give ourselves and coworkers a greater margin
for safety,” Brengel said.
The facility will be home to a variety of road features, reflecting
both rural and urban areas. A full map of the course detailed those
features include a mock bridge, highway ramps, rail crossing, median
crossover, intersections, and multiple different road pavement
types.
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