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Iroquois County sheriff reports new portable radios and training plans; seeks reimbursement for ILEAS deployment
Summary
Sheriff briefed the finance committee on new StarPhone portable radios with Wi-Fi fallback, ongoing staffing and training, and a pending reimbursement claim of about $8,500 for deputies who attended ILEAS training.
The Iroquois County sheriff reported that new StarPhone portable radios have been procured and are being tested, and that the radios include an option to use multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs when traditional Land Mobile Radio or cellular coverage is unavailable.
"Inside of these portable radios, there's the option to put 21 Wi-Fi channels," the sheriff said, describing configurations the department has set up for schools, health care, government, retail and miscellaneous use. He said the radios automatically switched over to hospital Wi-Fi during a recent run and performed well when deputies were out of county: "I was coming out of Saint Louis last week, getting a prisoner from Saint Louis, Missouri. I could hear our guys talking on the radio."
The sheriff told the committee dispatch and radio installation are pending additional staffing and training; one dispatcher recently quit and two new hires are in training. He said once staffing is stable the department will install radios in squad cars.
On training and reimbursements, the sheriff said the county applied for reimbursement through the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) for hours that two deputies spent at the national convention; he estimated the reimbursement at about $8,500 and said he would like to begin negotiations for corrections training sooner rather than later. He also described a plan to expand local training capabilities so deputies can receive mandated courses in-house rather than traveling to Bloomington or Champaign.
Why this matters: The radios and local training capacity affect operational readiness for law enforcement across the county and could reduce overtime and travel costs for mandated training.
What—s next: The sheriff will continue radio testing and coordinate with dispatch on installations; the county will pursue the ILEAS reimbursement and work with the county attorney on contract negotiations to enable in-house training.
