Illinois will invest $37.8 million in capital funding to construct a new state police forensic laboratory. The new laboratory will provide enhanced crime-solving abilities and create nearly 260 jobs. It will be located on land purchased in 2007 from Lindenwood University.
The 60,000-square-foot facility will include equipment for crime scene science, anthropology, trace and forensic biology, and chemistry; and polygraph, latent prints, firearms, and DNA testing. Bids for the project will open on June 30 with contracts awarded later in the summer. The state expects construction to be completed by 2012.
Currently, the state police lease 15,000 square feet of office space as its laboratory in Fairview Heights. The rented space can no longer accommodate the agency’s technological changes, casework growth and staffing needs.
“Ensuring public safety and creating jobs are two of my administration’s top priorities,” said Governor Quinn. “This project helps us accomplish both by creating an important asset for law enforcement in the Metro East area, while creating 260 jobs.”
