BUDGET CUTS MAY REMOVE TROOPERS FROM CAIRO AND CLOSE ULLIN DISTRICT OFFICE

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The Illinois State Police will close its Ullin district office and pull patrol officers out of Cairo if state lawmakers cut $7.4 million from the department's budget, the department's director has warned.

Illinois State Police Director Terrance W. Gainer said Tuesday these measures and other major reductions in police services would result if the department is forced to accept these additional budget cuts. He said they would have to lay off 369 police officers and 73 civilian employees.

The layoffs would be necessary if the Illinois General Assembly approves the budget cuts proposed by the state Senate last week and if lawmakers fail to approve the Illinois State Police's Early Retirement Incentive, Gainer said. Without the retirement incentive provision, Gainer said, the Illinois State Police would have to initiate layoffs.

In April, Illinois state police officers began patrolling Cairo to assist city police in their efforts to curb increases in drug traffic and violence.

Department Public Information Officer Master Sgt. Charles Schwarting said Gainer isn't posturing in issuing the warning.

"The director can only deal in the facts," he said. "The fact is they (state legislators) have made recommendations and proposals and we would be negligent if we did not assume they were serious."

But State Sen. Jim Rea, D-Christopher, said Thursday that he thought Gainer's statements amounted to more of a threat tactic. The proposed cuts, he said, would be administrative and not affect service to people on the state's highways.

Rea said he is opposed to closing state police district offices at Ullin and Carmi, also mentioned on Gainer's closure list, and that he voted against the department budget cuts.

"We worked very hard to get those stations established for accessibility and it's very important we keep those stations because of being in a highly rural area." Local police and sheriffs' departments need the stations for backup, he said.

Thirty-eight state patrol officers are assigned to the Ullin district office, Schwarting said. He declined to say how many state police officers the department had in the Cairo area.

Department policy precludes disclosing such details, he said.

"That's kind of like Schwarzkopf telling you how many troops he has deployed at a special location," he said, referring to former U.S. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf of the Persian Gulf War.

Cairo's mayor, James Wilson, could not be reached Thursday. Messages left for city Police Chief Harold Nelson and Illinois State Rep. David Phelps of Eldorado went unreturned. A spokesperson at Phelps' Springfield office said the lawmaker was in session.

Gainer said the department has worked for several months on a revitalization process to maximize enforcement and investigative services. In recent weeks, he said, transition teams have reviewed alternatives to closing facilities.

"These cutbacks and related layoffs change the scenario entirely. Unfortunately, now we have no other choice but to make painful reductions in manpower and valuable programs.

"If we have to lay off almost 370 officers and more than 70 scientists, technicians and support staff," Gainer said, "we will fall far short of our ability to ensure public safety. In the process, our own officers will face considerable added risk."

Gainer said the proposed cuts, along with the failure of the General Assembly to pass the Early Retirement Incentive, would force the state police in part to:

Suspend special enforcement patrols not only in Cairo, but also East St. Louis.

Virtually eliminate the patrol of the Chicago expressway system.

Close district headquarters in Ullin, Carmi, Sterling, Macomb, LaSalle, Litchfield, Pittsfield, and Ashkum. These facilities, Gainer said, would be closed to the public and would no longer house officers. If necessary, they would be used as communication centers.

Cut Illinois State Police support for Metropolitan Enforcement Groups by 40 percent.

End Illinois State Police investigation of public aid and provider fraud against the state, resulting in increased health services costs.

Halt the development of DNA analysis in the department's forensic science laboratories.

Schwarting said the hope with the early retirement incentive is that eligible officers would make use of it. In the long-run, he said, the incentive would actually bolster the economy because it would permit the hiring of entry-level people, thus giving young people the chance to get into law enforcement.

"So it's really a two-pronged, proper and professional approach. On one hand we're saving money and on the other hand we're also providing an opportunity for young people to get some more jobs in Illinois."