URBANA, IL (Chambana Today) — Law enforcement officers and elected officials from across Illinois gathered in Urbana today to celebrate a major expansion at the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System (ILEAS) Training Center — a facility now regarded as one of the state’s premier public safety training hubs.

At the heart of the celebration was the unveiling of a newly remodeled B-Wing, a major upgrade made possible by a $3 million state investment championed by the late State Senator Scott Bennett.

“Scott Bennett understood that investing in public safety means investing in training,” said Project Manager Jim Page, who led ILEAS as Executive Director from 2004 to 2022. “Without his commitment and leadership, we wouldn’t have had the resources to make this happen. He recognized how critical it is for our officers to be trained in environments that simulate real-world conditions.”

In a special moment during the ceremony, State Senator Paul Faraci accepted a commemorative plaque on behalf of the Bennett family, honoring the senator’s legacy and his pivotal role in securing the funding. Senator Bennett worked closely with Senator Chapin Rose to obtain the support through the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

The event drew a crowd of stakeholders from throughout the region, including State Representative Brandun Schweizer, Robert Flider, Director of Community and Government Relations for the Office of the Chancellor at the University of Illinois, and Jeff Wilson, representing the Champaign County Board. All were on hand to witness the facility’s transformation and to show support for its continued role in state-wide law enforcement training.

Mayor DeShawn Williams of Urbana also addressed the crowd. “This facility is more than bricks and mortar. It’s a symbol of commitment to public safety and inter-agency cooperation. We’re proud to have it in our city.”

The upgrades to the ILEAS Training Center are already having an impact.

“This facility gives our officers the chance to train for real-world scenarios in a controlled, safe setting,” said Police Chief Nicholas Sikora of Elburn. “When we send our staff here, we know they’re going to be better prepared to respond — whether it’s a protest, a natural disaster, or a crisis situation in our own backyard.”

ILEAS now offers five classrooms, five breakout rooms, and seating for nearly 350 students. Since opening the Urbana facility in 2008, it has hosted over 3,300 training events with more than 88,000 attendees — a number that continues to grow. In addition to its training impact, ILEAS brings in $1.5 million annually in lease revenue and injects $2.2 million into the local economy through lodging, meals, and supply needs from traveling officers.

The facility also serves as the central command for mutual aid in Illinois, coordinating specialized response teams, such as Mobile Field Forces, Explosive Ordinance Disposal units, WMD teams, and advanced communication deployments. Most recently, ILEAS helped deploy 206 officers to the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and 253 officers to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

For ILEAS Board Vice President and Oak Lawn Police Chief Daniel Vittoro, the facility’s growth represents a leap forward in readiness: “This training center means we no longer have to scramble to find space or improvise training environments. It’s professional, centralized, and reflects the complexity of the work our officers are asked to do. We’re training smarter and better.”

The vision for this training hub is clear to ILEAS Executive Director Larry Evans, who succeeded Page in 2022. “Every hour of training that happens here pays off when something goes wrong,” said Evans. “We don’t always know where the next threat or emergency will come from, but we do know this — preparation saves lives. This facility allows us to do that preparation at scale, with quality, and with consistency.”

The event also served as a tribute to Page’s legacy, recognizing his 18 years of service as a foundational leader of ILEAS. What began in a borrowed basement office at METCAD has become a statewide system with more than 900 member agencies. “ILEAS has always stood for cooperation and preparedness,” Page said. “This center is just the physical embodiment of that mission — and it’s going to serve Illinois for generations.”

The ILEAS Training Center is located at: 1701 E. Main Street in Urbana. More information, training schedules, and agency resources can be found at:
www.ileas.org.