Pesotum welcomes six new troopers as part of historic Illinois State Police cadet class

On Friday, Pesotum gained six new troopers as part of the Illinois State Police (ISP)'s largest cadet class of the last 25 years.

By Zeno Jo July 11, 2025 4:17 pm

ContributedIllinois State PoliceISP welcomed 95 new troopers from Cadet Class 150 at a graduation ceremony held at Westside Christian Church in Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (Chambana Today) – On Friday, Pesotum gained six new troopers as part of the Illinois State Police (ISP)’s largest cadet class of the last 25 years.

ISP welcomed 95 new troopers from Cadet Class 150 at a graduation ceremony held at Westside Christian Church in Springfield. The new troopers will report to all ten ISP troop locations throughout the state starting July 13. Cadet Class 150 marks the 22nd cadet class graduation under Governor JB Pritzker and ISP director Brendan F. Kelly, Since 2019, 692 troopers have joined ISP.

“I am proud to congratulate Cadet Class 150 on their graduation and commend them on their commitment to the people of Illinois,” said Pritzker. “As the largest class in 25 years, the brave men and women of Cadet Class 150 exemplify the core values of the Illinois State Police and will serve our state with honor, integrity, and pride.”

Cadet Class 150 was a mix of a traditional class and a lateral entry class. The traditional class included 43 cadets who completed a demanding 29-week program. The lateral class consisted of 52 cadets who completed the 12-week program designed for certified police officers who previously graduated from an accredited law enforcement academy and had at least two years of experience while employed as a full-time officer. Both programs consist of physical and classroom instruction, which included training in cultural diversity, procedural justice, domestic violence, critical incident response, de-escalation tactics, firearms, first responder certification, control and arrest tactics, Illinois vehicle code, criminal law, motor carrier safety, juvenile law, and more.

“It’s a privilege to swear in the largest ISP cadet class in the past 25 years,” said Kelly. “Law enforcement agencies across the country can struggle to hire new officers, but we continue to rise above that challenge because of our values of Integrity, Service, and Pride to now commission the largest class so far in the 21st century.”

In addition to academy training, cadets were required to participate in one-on-one mentoring with field training officers as part of a 14-week field training program, expanding their total training to either 42 or 25 weeks. Troopers who successfully complete the field training program advance to solo-patrol status.