FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE?????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?OPCLEE

THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2002?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202/307-0703

ILLINOIS POLICE CORPS HOLDS GRADUATION CEREMONY ?

13 Officers Graduate From Justice Department Program

MACOMB, ILLINOIS? ? With the graduation tomorrow of 13 police cadets, the Illinois? Police Corps has added a total of 27 highly trained Police Corps officers to community patrol throughout Illinois.? Illinois is one of 22 states and territories that recruit and train college graduates to serve four years as community police officers through a program funded by the Department of Justice?s Office of Justice Programs (OJP).

?These men and women are making a commitment to ensure public safety,? said Deborah Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs.? ?These officers have chosen to make a difference by serving our citizens.? We admire their dedication and congratulate them on their achievement.?

??????????? ?The Police Corps is a competitive college scholarship program for students who

agree to work in a state or local police force for at least four years.? Scholarship funds cover education expenses, including tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses.

Today?s graduates of the Illinois Police Corps program will join 11 of the state?s local law enforcement agencies.? Those departments are the Carbondale, Carol Stream, Champaign, Deerfield,? DuPage County, Lombard,? Normal, O?Fallon, Ogle, Vermillion and Wheaton Police Departments.

The graduating Police Corps officers are: Brian Bradley and Brigitte Buitron of Woodridge; Stephen Cetnarowicz of Forest Park; Jonathan Cleveland of Lockport; Jacob DeMay of Lewistown; Patrick Feldhake of Flora; Brian Greear of Belleville; Michael Gustis of Chicago; Michael Hartshorn of Danville; Andrew Hogan of Byron; Jesse Ital of Harrisburg; David Midkiff of Waterloo; and Peter Spizzirri of Naperville.?

The graduation and reception will take place at 1:00 p.m. at Western Illinois University, University Union, Grand Ballroom in Macomb.? The keynote address will be delivered by Robert Maxwell, National Director of Police Corps Programs.? The graduation is a culmination of a rigorous 24‑week Police Corps training program, which teaches the knowledge, skills and attitudes police officers need to serve on community patrol.? At the conclusion of the training, all participants must satisfy high performance standards for physical, mental and emotional fitness. The police departments in which individual participants will serve provide additional training as appropriate.

Students interested in the Police Corps apply to the lead agency of the participating state in which they wish to serve.? Applications are then evaluated based upon defined selection criteria. States with Police Corps programs are expected to advertise the availability of scholarships to the full range of prospective participants and to make special efforts to encourage applications from among members of all racial, ethnic and gender groups.??????????

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For information about the Illinois Police Corps program and the next training class contact Gary Turner at 309-298‑3350.?? Information is also available through OJP?s Website at:? http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/opclee.

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For additional information contact Sheila Jerusalem at 202/307-0703.??