ISP acquires former bank building

A new public space in downtown Springfield for people to learn about history will be located in a former bank building. It will tell stories of the 74 Illinois State Police officers who have died in the line of duty and display unique ISP artifacts such as uniforms, old equipment and a fleet of eight vintage squad cars.

The indoor visitors’ center is planned for the former U.S. Bank building at Sixth and Cook streets, with the hope of opening it by the end of 2027. The Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, finalized its purchase of the building at the end of April. The ISP Memorial Park, a solemn outdoor tribute to fallen officers that runs along Lawrence Avenue between Sixth and Seventh streets, is located across the street.

The rectangular building is recognizable for its raised one-story glass-walled office space that sits atop multiple drive-through lanes. It was most recently used as a Springfield Clinic drive-up lab that opened during the COVID-19 pandemic after its original use as a branch bank.

“We really want to really build on Memorial Park and enhance that experience,” said Jarod Ingebrigtsen, the foundation’s executive director. He said visitors will be able to learn not only that the officers passed away, “but also how they lived,” which will connect them more deeply with those officers.

“We’ll have the old Illinois State Police Academy sign,” he added. “We’ve got various memorabilia – badges, yearbooks, some documents, old equipment that we’ve used over the years (such as) different first aid kits and different in-car computers.”

Ingebrigtsen also said ISP plans to have an annual memorial ceremony even if no ISP officers died while on duty in the previous year. It will occur the day before the annual statewide police memorial event at the State Capitol in May. The visitors’ center will become a reception area and make indoor space possible in case of bad weather.

At this year’s memorial event, the guest speaker was the great-nephew of the second ISP officer killed in the line of duty, Trooper Lory Lee Price. A gang member in southern Illinois killed both Price and Price’s wife Jan. 17, 1927, in southern Illinois as revenge for their police work.

“The two were abducted from their home and taken away in separate cars,” according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. “Trooper Price’s body was found two weeks later with 18 gunshot wounds. His wife’s body was found four months later in the bottom of a mine shaft.”

The building will also become an events center, Ingebrigtsen said, comparing it to how the LRS hangar at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport is made available for private gatherings. Details about who can use it and for what purposes are still to be determined, “but the goal is for part of it to be an event space where community groups can come and meet or have an event and (at the same time) be able to learn about the officers who have been killed, learn about the department and see the fleet of cars.”

While the building has been purchased, the foundation will be doing some fundraising for the construction and renovation, Ingebrigtsen said.

He retired from ISP at the rank of major five years ago after a 26-year career in Chicago and Springfield.

Ed Wojcicki worked in print journalism for 26 years and freelances from Springfield.