The Selection Process is initiated after the Merit Board receives notice from the Illinois State Police that a cadet class has been scheduled. The process consists of the following steps:

1. Background Investigation/Review – A complete background investigation, including education, personal and employment references, traffic, criminal and credit history is completed. Once all background information has been compiled, a committee will meet to review this information to determine which applicants advance to oral interviews. Polygraph testing may be required at this, or any other, stage of the Selection Process.


2. Oral Interview – An individual Oral Interview takes approximately one and a half hours to complete. Applicants are ranked after this step of the process.


3. Certification – An appropriate number of applicants needed for the cadet class is certified to the Director of the Illinois State Police, and scheduled for a medical examination. The medical exam is administered by the Illinois State Police.

All steps in this process are mandatory and cannot be rescheduled for any reason. The Selection Process may take six months to a year to complete. We are usually working within a very tight time frame and do not have much, if any, flexibility. Applicants are given as much advance notice as possible regarding upcoming events. Notification is made by email and US mail; therefore it is important that your current addresses and phone numbers are on file with the Merit Board. Changes to your information should include your Social Security number to ensure accuracy and should be done via email. Personal information changes are not accepted by telephone. See the Contact Us page for information on contacting the Merit Board.