New police station to combine Marion and DuQuoin facilities

Gov. George Ryan and area legislators wielded golden shovels Monday at a ground-breaking ceremony for a new $5.6 million State Police headquarters that will combine activities in DuQuoin with the activities of state police in Marion.

An audience of current and retired state troopers enjoyed homemade chocolate chip cookies in the shade of a big tent while the governor, State Senator David Leuchtefeld, R-Okawville, and State Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, took their turns at the podium.

“Today [the new headquarters] is a reality,” Ryan said.

Leuchtefeld said people from Southern Illinois sometimes have a tendency to say that state funding all goes up north, but this project demonstrates that Southern Illinois is getting its fair share.

“This project is a long time in the making,” said Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro

The Districk 13 headqueaters is now split between Duquoin and an investigations headquarters in Marion. The Duquoin building was constructed in1935 and is not able to keep up with the needs of modern day policing.

The new building will occupy 33,160 square feet, nearly twice as much as the two current buildings combined, and will accommodate patrol, investigations, communications, forensic crime scene investigations and administration under one roof.

The new building will be designed to accommodate the latest technology, but it is also intended to be adapted to the new technology of the future, Bost said.

The new headquarters will be built next to the current headquarters in DuQuoin. Construction is scheduled to begin immediately.

District 13 encompasses Jackson, Williamson, Perry, Franklin, Randolf, Jefferson and Washington counties.

“[The new headquarters] is going to mean a new way of doing business for troopers in District 13,” Ryan said.

Reporter Phil Beckman can be reached at