ISP continues recruiting push, offers higher salaries

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — Troopers Javier Lofton and Austin Galloway are two of the newest members of the Illinois state police force.

“We’re a do-it-all agency,” Lofton said. “And we have troopers are specialized in a lot of different fields.”

Lofton spent 10 years with the Adams County Sheriff’s department. He wore a lot of hats with the department. And eventually decided the next step for his career was the state police.

“You had the case that a task force agent, you will meet some of the task force guys, you had an investigation case, you meet some of the agents. And if you needed a canine, you can meet the canine officers when you just requested them,” Lofton said.

Meeting that wide variety of troopers is what inspired Lofton to join the Illinois State Police. Lofton went through a new lateral transfer program, which allows officers from other departments to quickly move through the training steps and join ISP. And now, he helps with a criminal investigations unit, working with other departments as they try to solve crimes.
Now, he’s the one that other officers at local departments see.

“They ask us questions to see a bounces idea from you from, you know, officer to officer, but for the most part like they depend on us because we have that intel. We also have a lot of resources,” Lofton said.

Galloway took a different route. He’s the son of a former Springfield police officer, and he knew he always wanted to be one too. Shortly after graduating from University of Illinois Springfield, he joined the ISP academy. Now, he patrols the interstates for the department.

“I originally started out in troop eight, which is down by Collinsville East St. Louis, worked with a lot of great people, but I live in the Troop 6 area,” Galloway said. “So I transferred back up here. And it’s been a great experience.”

The state police is in the middle of a huge recruiting push. The state has continued to approve new cadet classes over the past few years, and to try and attract new applicants, the state police are now offering a higher starting salary starting at 90 thousand dollars per year.

Galloway was well aware of that recruiting push. It’s a big reason why he made the jump straight out of college to the state police.

“Even actually, before I got on with the state police knew a lot of state troopers,” Galloway said. “So I even got not pressured but more like a push for you know that now’s a great time to join for people.

Galloway and Lofton are just starting their careers with ISP. And while they are working their current jobs right now, it’s the possibilities that come with the role that makes them the most excited for their futures.

“The state police, you can write your own story,” Lofton said. “If you want to be on patrol for 20 years, you can be able to patrol for 20 years. But if you want to do something that you want to just do five different positions, you can do that as well. When those positions come open, you can apply for them.”

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