ILEAS previously utilized grant funds to acquire and distribute 40 ballistic protective shields to 20 mulit-jurisdictional teams and/or agencies across the State. Mandatory training took place in August of 2022 and was conducted by the ILEAS WMD Special Response Team training cadre. Each agency/team received two shields. These sets of shields are United Shield III+ rifle grade ballstic shields and the United Shield MXV pistol grade shields, both with view port and lighting.
Since then, ILEAS was very fortunate to have received additional grant funding for more of these shields. Like before, this second group of shields have been awarded to cooperative tactical teams, as well as individual law enforcement agencies across the State. Currently, nine (9) more sets were just received and were awarded to the following agencies:
- Winnebago/Loves Park Crime Detection Unit
- Williamson County/Marion Cooperative Unit
- Parkland College PD
- Highland PD
- Kendall County Sheriff’s Office
- Pontiac PD
- Illinois Valley Central/Princeton Cooperative Team
- Normal PD
- Carmi PD
These new shields were distributed at the ILEAS Training Center during the Ballistic Shield Training Course, that took place May 22-26, 2023. Additionally, another eleven (11) sets of shields were ordered in February of 2023. They will be awarded to other agencies who wish to submit an application in the coming months.
All of these shields represent an expenditure of over $310,000 in grant resources provided at the state level for ILEAS to provide protection for the law enforcement community, as well as all of the communities we serve in Illinois.