Published: June 26, 2009 11:11 am      

District 12 meets new state police director

Most Illinois State Police District 12 personnel turned out Wednesday to welcome Jonathan Monken, the recently appointed director of Illinois State Police.

Monken mingled through the crowd of uniformed officers and other personnel striking up interest and lively conversation among those present.

Following his appointment by Gov. Pat Quinn, Monken is taking it upon himself to visit all 21 state police district’s throughout the state.

For the 29-year-old Monken who has never worked in law enforcement, he feels the visits are an opportunity to meet all the people within the Illinois State Police.

According to Monken, he is not overly political and feels he will bring fresh perspective to the job.

Monken is a West Point graduate with two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Kosovo. Following his service, he worked as a recruiter for the Illinois National Guard.

“I didn’t come from a political background,” said Monken. “I do feel like my combat experience has provided me with the leadership skills needed for this job.”

According to Monken, fielding questions from District 12 officers on concerns ranging from a lack of squad car quality, possibility of tasers being implemented for use by troopers and the general state of the budget helped him keep troopers’ interests as a priority.

“I’ll being taking a trip like this every week until I visit all 21 districts,” said Monken. “It will probably take me until the end of the year.”

District 12 Lt. Rick Britton saw many positive attributes in the visit.

“It was a great opportunity for our troopers to meet the director,” said Britton. “Some of the younger guys have never met a director.”

Having outlined District 12’s tactical plan and goals for the upcoming fiscal year, Britton feels Monken knows there are many things the district hopes to achieve.

“I’m glad to see the director is taking a hands-on approach,” said Britton.

Several awards also were given to local officers. Trooper Stephen Knebel and Fayette County Deputy Shawn Carter were both given a Certificate of Recognition for their parts in apprehending a bank robbery suspect in St. Peter. The individual was chased from the scene and finally stopped on Interstate 70 near St. Elmo.

Carter and Knebel both spoke with the suspect getting him to surrender without hurting himself or turning his gun on officers.

“Its an odd thing to say you have to point a gun at someone to save them, but that is what we had to do,” said Carter. “These troopers are very good at what they do, but the local guys are, too.”

According to Carter, it is an honor to be recognized by the Illinois State Police director, but awards and a paycheck are only perks for being able to work in a profession he loves.

Another certificate of recognition was given to Trooper Robert Kruse for his investigation into a fatality involving several commercial vehicles and the death of a 16-year-old girl in Clark County in July 2006. Kruse’s investigation found the truck driver involved in the accident had exceeded his allotted driving hours and had obtained an Indiana driver’s license after a lifetime suspension. The investigation led to a 20-year conviction for driver.

As for Monken, he plans to make a direct impact regarding the needs of troopers throughout the state.

“There were a lot of questions about squad cars because that is a dire need right now,” said Monken. “Hopefully, we will be getting those soon.”

Tony Huffman can be reached at 217-347-7151 ext. 135 or tony.huffman@effinghamdailynews.com