State Police vehicle fleet will take 18 years to replace as costs rise,
ISP director says
[April 02, 2026]
By Ben Szalinski
SPRINGFIELD — More than 1,000 Illinois State Police vehicles are near
the end of their life, but the agency might not be able to replace them
anytime soon.
The Illinois Department of Central Management Services recommends that
vehicles in the ISP fleet be replaced every eight years or 150,000
miles, but it’s taking much longer, ISP Director Brenden Kelly told a
Senate appropriations committee last month.
“At this rate with this funding mechanism we have, it will take about 18
years to replace our fleet,” Kelly said. “So while we’re not expecting a
miracle in terms of some legislation to solve that for us permanently,
we recognize that we’re going to have to continue to, piecemeal, find
those sources of funding where they can be found.”
The problem, Kelly said, lies with the State Police Vehicle Fund. While
lawmakers have appropriated $30 million to the State Police for vehicle
replacement each year since fiscal year 2024, the actual revenue that
goes into the fund is about a third of that amount or less. In fiscal
year 2025, for example, lawmakers gave ISP $30 million in spending
authority, but the agency ultimately spendt about $7 million due to the
fund’s slower revenue pace.
The fund’s main revenue source comes from a $1 fee on license plates
that was enacted in 2008 and the proceeds from the sale of retired ISP
vehicles. The balance generally hovers around $11 million to $12
million, according to ISP.
“Our vehicle replacement fund is not keeping up with the cost of those
vehicles,” Sen. Seth Lewis, R-Bartlett, a member of the Senate’s public
safety appropriations committee, told Capitol News Illinois. “So our
officers are spending eight hours a day in a vehicle that is eight to 10
years old with hundreds of thousands of miles on it. They don’t have the
same safety standards as today’s vehicles.”
Beginning this spring, 10% of an insurance underwriting fee paid by car
insurance providers will also be devoted to the fund, which could
increase its balance by a few million dollars, according to State
Police. That existing fee otherwise funds State Police administration
and training.
Lewis added he’s open to increasing how much of the vehicle registration
fees goes toward the State Police vehicle fund. Most of the $151
registration fee goes to transportation infrastructure under current
law.
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An Illinois State Police car is pictured outside the Illinois
Capitol in Springfield during an event in 2022. (Capitol News
Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)
“We are spending close to $56 billion; if we could come up with 20, 30
million to keep our officers safe, I want to work on that,” he said.
ISP covers more miles than any other state, Kelly said. The average car
in ISP’s 2,700-vehicle fleet has 100,000 miles.
Vehicle costs
The cost of new police vehicles has also ballooned from “over a decade
ago” when a new car cost $60,000, Kelly said. They now cost $120,000.
“The cost may have gone up but the funding for that has not,” Kelly
said.
ISP has 1,067 cars that meet CMS’ threshold for replacement, according
to ISP, but the agency has been replacing more vehicles in recent years
because of mechanical issues and damage. ISP reported 24 of their cars
were hit in Scott’s Law violations in 2024 and 15 in 2025. Scott’s Law
requires drivers to slow down and move over when approaching an
emergency vehicle on the road.
Seven cars have been hit this year as of mid-March, including three
separate incidents in one day.
The agency expects the funding from the insurance underwriting fee will
allow it to replace 47 additional high-mileage cars this year. So far,
60 new vehicles have arrived during FY26.
The number of new vehicles the agency receives each year can vary based
on market conditions and how long it takes for the vehicle to be
outfitted for police service. ISP received 138 new vehicles in FY25 but
only 43 in FY22 because of a shortage of microchips. Many of the cars on
backorder that year were delivered in FY23.
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