You're right. When I rode in the bus in the academy it didn't have radios or lights.

I recall installing the radio equipment in this bus at our facilities located at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. I recall the radio's and emergency lights were the last items to be placed on the bus after the ISP markings were already done. I believe the bus may have been in use prior to the radio equipment being installed. If memory serves me correctly, we didn't complete this task until the end of August after the Illinois State Fair, because the bus was being used during the fair to transfer cadets for traffic duty inside the grounds.

I was in the ISP Academy from 03/01 to 08/01 and we had the bus the whole time. This article may have been publidhed on 9/05/01 but we had the bus well before that.

Below is the article directly from the ISP official webpage. I was wrong about it being dontated a week before 9/11. It wasn't State Police Modified and ready until a week before 9/11.

September 5, 2001

SPRINGFIELD, IL - At a news conference held today, the Illinois State Police (ISP) and Mr. Richard Fix, Managing Director of the Springfield Mass Transit District (SMTD), announced the donation of a 39-passenger bus. "This generous donation by the SMTD is a valuable addition to the ISP’s transportation fleet. Not only will the bus provide a more practical and economical means of transportation, it will also enhance our ability to transfer cadet and recruit classes from the academy to various training locations," said ISP Director Sam W. Nolen. "The Illinois State Police is very grateful to Mr. Fix and the SMTD for their generosity."


The bus, retired from the Springfield Mass Transit District last year, has been striped with ISP markings and modified to make it highway usable. A message board on the front displays a "Buckle Up" safety message, while the rear panel contains recruitment information. Although it won’t be directly involved with enforcement activities, Nolen warned violators it will be fully equipped with ISP radios.

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Uh, thanks Sean. I'm sure we'll all sleep a little better tonight now that the full story about this bus has been placed here for all to see.

At least I know I will.

Greg
copcar dot com

You are correct that the bus is assigned to the academy and transports cadets. The bus is also a former Springfield Mass Transit bus. However we had it long before 9-11 and I am sure it was purchased from Springfield Mass Transit not donanted.

A little tid bit on this bus. It's in Springfield at the State Police Academy. It's used mainly to shuttle recruits to and from the gun range or Illinois State Fairgrounds for driving exercises.
By coinencidence, the bus was donated to the ISP by the Springfield Mass Transit District a week before 9-11.

By the way, Kudos to Greg and everyone else involved with a top notch website.