For the first time, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) has followed its mandate to approve directors of state police academies, the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) reported recently.
The ILETSB has approved Raymon Cordell as the director of the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy at the College of DuPage (COD).
The action comes shortly after ECW submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the ILETSB for a list of directors it had approved in the past and received a reply that "we have never done that."
Upon the hiring of Cordell, the ECW submitted a request for the ILETSB's approval record of the new director, including identifying administrative code that spelled out the agency's requirements. The group received confirmation of Cordell's approval by Brent Fischer, executive director of the ILETSB.
"This is yet another example of how the Freedom of Information Act is a law that is not just about getting copies of records but can trigger a government agency to do the job they are paid to do," the ECW said on its website.
The group is still waiting for a response to its request for proof that all other police academy directors have likewise been approved.
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