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Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus
Campus History
With the exodus of Lindenwood University from their Belleville location in 2019, the campus at 2300 West Main Street has experienced many exciting changes, all brought to fruition to enhance the viability of this location for our community.
Thanks to Mayor Patty Gregory’s vision, and the vision of many community business leaders, educators, and citizens, the campus now houses numerous entities which include both educational and sports programs, and three of our City of Belleville departments – Health, Housing & Building, Economic Development, Planning & Zoning, and Engineering – which are located in the heart of the campus, too.
Lindenwood University invested over $45 million in improvements after purchasing it from the City of Belleville in 2003. The City of Belleville then purchased the campus back from Lindenwood in 2022 for $3 million, thanks to a grant received from the State of Illinois.
This historically significant campus, which was originally home to Belleville Township High School from 1915 – 2003, Is filled with beautiful buildings, several of which were designed in the 1920’s by William Ittner, a world-renowned architect and designer from St. Louis, Missouri. Ittner has been described as the most influential man in school architecture, having created over 430 school facilities nationwide.
Presently, the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus is home of the Illinois State Police Forensic Training Institute, the Southwestern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, the Southwestern Illinois College Police Academy, Southern Illinois University Law School – Carbondale Experiential Program, and the Jets Basketball Mentoring Program.
Campus Entities
City of Belleville - #18 on Map
Three of the city's departments are conveniently located on the campus:
- Economic Development, Planning & Zoning
- Engineering Department
- Health, Housing & Building
Illinois State Police Metro-East Forensic Science Laboratory - #21 on Map
The Illinois State Police, Division of Forensic Services will be utilizing portions of the Southwestern Illinois Justice & Workforce Development Campus in order to support its training mission, to include hosting external and internal in-service training opportunities as well as initial training for Forensic Scientists.
Information on the Forensic Scientist Trainee program can be found Illinois State Police website.
Jets Basketball - #7 on Map
The Jets Basketball Club will promote athletic and academic excellence in young men and women. The club's goal is to provide an enriching experience promoting character, discipline, and a culture of excellence.
Student athletes are exposed to college coaches on all levels and premiere events across the country to provide opportunities for athletes to receive scholarships to institutions of all levels.
Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission (SILEC) - #4 on Map
SILEC is a not-for-profit agency that acts under the authority of the Illinois Law Enforcement Training & Standards Board. It provides static and mobilized law enforcement training to municipal and county law enforcement agencies primarily in the counties of Madison, Bond, Clinton, St. Clair, Monroe, Washington, and Randolph in Illinois.
SILEC organizes and delivers in-service training to approximately 90 Law Enforcement agencies who collectively employ 1800 Law Enforcement Officers, 200 county Correctional officers, approximately one-hundred 911 operators, police dispatch centers, county probation officers, Illinois Parole Officers, and Judicial Court Officers. The training is mobilized to numerous geographic areas within Southwestern Illinois to make it more convenient for area law enforcement agencies to access their mandated in-service training.
Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) - #17 on Map
Third-year students from the Southern Illinois University School of Law live and take classes on the Southwestern Illinois Justice and Workforce Development Campus while working at various state and federal offices.
In the semester-long Metro East Criminal Justice Experiential Learning Program, students gain immersive experiences in the justice system, and the community benefits from the legal services the students provide under the supervision of practicing attorneys. In accordance with Supreme Court Rule 711, students will make court appearances, counsel clients, negotiate settlements, and prepare documents.
The program provides a unique opportunity for SIU Law to collaborate with other campus tenants, including the Illinois State Police Forensic Institute, the Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission, a police training academy offered by Southwestern Illinois College, and other nonprofit organizations. SIU Law also plans to host admissions events for prospective students and engage with alumni and attorneys in the region.
Southwestern Illinois College (SWIC) - #4 on Map
The Southwestern Illinois Police Academy (SWIPA) utilizes a combination of academia and practitioners to deliver a well-rounded, law enforcement based foundation of education. The end result of the training program is a state certified individual capable of performing at the entry level requirements of any local or county law enforcement agency in the state of Illinois.
The basic training course includes all aspects of entry level law enforcement training to include strengthening good foundations of ethics, examining legal issues, citizen interaction, community oriented policing, investigative skills, state of the art firearms training and defensive tactics. The academy offers basic training for full-time and part-time police officers.
Since its inception in 1971, the Southwestern Illinois Police Academy graduates have been among the highest scoring state certification test score averages in the state.
The SWIC Police Academy is one of seven certified police academies in the State of Illinois and is certified by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board. The five year passage rate for the State BLE Certification Exam is 100%.
Learn more about the SWIC Police Academy.