Staffing shortages plague police departments across Sauk Valley

DIXON – The Fulton Police Department faces a “dire and unprecedented” staffing shortage, Police Chief Nicholas Neblung told the Fulton City Council in June.

His department is not alone in those circumstances.

The Sterling City Council recently voted to increase officers’ pay to help retain and recruit officers from signing with state agencies and other departments that can offer more attractive salaries. Amboy Chief of Police Paul Smith said the city of Amboy approved pay increases for its officers for the same reasons in March 2024.

“I don’t blame officers for searching for better pay,” Smith said. “We need a win-win. It’s about protecting people and serving your city but also making enough money to survive.”

In a letter to the council, Neblung said the lack of officers is “severely impacting” the department’s ability to protect and serve the community, including longer response times to emergency calls, increased risk to officer safety due to lack of adequate backup, increased burnout and lower morale among officers with increased workloads.

“I’ve got one officer to cover day shift, one to cover night shift and that leaves one officer leftover,” Neblung said. “Factor in vacations, time off and mandatory training sessions, and I ask, ‘How can we properly cover these shifts?’ We just can’t.”

Neblung’s answer was affirmed when one of his officers recently injured their back while working. The staff shortage and other conditions meant Neblung had no choice but to cover the officer’s patrol shift himself.

I don’t blame officers for searching for better pay. We need a win-win. It’s about protecting people and serving your city but also making enough money to survive.”

—  Paul Smith, Amboy police chief

“I worked from 7 o’clock in the morning ‘til 3 o’clock the following morning, went home for three hours, took a nap and went to training,” Neblung said. “So, sacrifice is what really ends up happening to us.”

For now, Neblung said he and the Fulton City Council agreed the best move is to wait and renegotiate for more competitive pay for their officers when the Fraternal Order of Police union’s demand to bargain opens in December. Negotiations will follow in January 2025, but the new contract will not go into effect until May 1.

“We lost our last officer to another agency within 15 miles of us for $5 more an hour,” Neblung said.

Until then, Neblung said his officers will choose which overtime shifts they want to pick up and any remaining shifts will be covered by a dedicated officer contracted from the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office for $65 an hour.

“I know Camanche PD (in Iowa) has done the same thing for Clinton County when they absolutely have no one,” he said. “It’s happening all across the country in different places.”

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Recruits go through speed reloading training Wednesday, July 17, 2024, as part of the Sauk Valley Police Academy class. (Alex Paschal)

Rock Falls Chief of Police David Pilgrim said it would be ideal if Rock Falls had two more officers, but his problem is not a lack of officers, but rather, a lack of available officers and lengthy wait times to fill open positions.

“We have one officer deployed with the National Guard and one who is a resource officer for our high school,” Pilgrim said. “I have one open position, but it can take anywhere from six months to a year to get an officer.”

Hiring a new officer involves a lengthy screening and interview process followed by 16 weeks of instruction at a police academy. There are eight academies in Illinois, some with waiting lists up to a year long. In 2023, Dixon opened the state’s newest police academy at Sauk Valley Community College to help.

Since then, the Dixon academy has graduated 108 cadets, with another 33 set to graduate this September. Academy Director Jason LaMendola said that in its first graduating class, the academy saw 15 officers go to departments in Lee, Ogle and Whiteside counties, with some of those officers working in Dixon, Rock Falls and Sterling.

After the academy, graduates still need to complete another 16 weeks of field training where a field training officer rides along, supervises and evaluates the new probationary officer before deeming them ready for solo patrol.

“The new academy definitely helps by having another place to send cadets, but it hasn’t fixed the problem,” Pilgrim said.