A half-million-dollar federal grant is a major boost for Bloomington Police Department's Real-Time Information and Crime Center [RTICC].
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Dunlap, helped secure the $556,900 grant as part of a $19 million investment in community projects and infrastructure across his Central Illinois district that includes parts of Bloomington-Normal. LaHood toured the facility Monday morning and met with law enforcement and community leaders for a ceremonial check signing at the Bloomington Police Department [BPD].
In addition to BPD officers and staff, McLean County Sheriff Matt Lane and Sheriff’s Lt. Jon Albee, Illinois Wesleyan University President Sheahon Zenger and City of Bloomington personnel attended a news conference to greet the congressman.
“This funding represents an investment in the safety of others,” said Bloomington Police Chief Jamal Simington. “Our officers, our neighborhoods, and the people who live, work, play, worship, study and go about their business in our city.”
The center launched in 2025 and is the region's only real-time crime data center, staffed by certified professionals skilled in best practices for real-time crime centers.
“Our analysts handled 2,797 requests for assistance from police officers, detectives and our law enforcement community in 2025,” Simington said.
He said the center’s information was used to help solve two of Bloomington’s three homicides last year, identify a suspect in a counterfeit operation across multiple jurisdictions, locate a “road rage offender within minutes,” and linked an ATM theft suspect to a multistate organized crime group.
The grant will be used to “significantly enhance” the center's capabilities, including the purchase of advanced analytics software that can merge data from up to 10 inputs, “giving our officers a clearer, faster picture of threats and criminal activity,” he said.
Simington said the department also will upgrade existing public safety cameras and install new ones in areas known to be impacted by crime, and add more automatic license plate reading [ALPR] cameras in targeted areas.
“We’ll also be able to build a stronger data pathway by installing fiber optic connections where they don’t currently exist,” he said. “Our wireless hardware will be upgraded to improve transmission of video and critical information.”
The department also plans to increase its use of predictive AI technology to assist in investigations, plus real-time crash detection software to enhance traffic safety.
“And finally, we will be able to expand the Real-Time Information and Crime Center workspace itself as a phase two improvement.”
A collaborative mindset
Simington said 13 agencies have come to Bloomington in the past year to see the RTICC in action.
“We’re continuously reminded of the difficult job law enforcement has in keeping a community safe,” said Mayor Dan Brady. “The increase in partnerships for intelligence gathering and technology is critical in this age of ever-changing technology.”
Brady said state-of-the-art technology such as social media crime detection software and traffic safety cameras come “with a hefty price tag,” and the $500,000-plus investment has benefits extending beyond the city limits.
LaHood said members of Congress can submit requests for Community Project Funding during the annual appropriations process. Additional grants went to cities and counties across his 21-county district, as well as the Bloomington-Normal Airport Authority for the design and construction of a new air cargo road.
“The chief and the city obviously stood out,” LaHood said, “so we included that as one of our community funding projects, testified before the committee, talked about where this money would be spent — and I will defend every nickel of these federal dollars coming back here and what it’s going to do here in Bloomington and for the region.”
Simington said “a collaborative mindset” assisting other agencies by providing real-time data is part of the center’s mission, adding BPD has supported other local departments and Illinois State Police.
LaHood said he found the project to be a “wise investment of taxpayer money.
“It’s going to help with fighting crime throughout the region, throughout McLean County. … It’s a win for the region. It’s a win for the City of Bloomington. And it’s a win for our law enforcement officers.”
Use of AI
Simington said his department has put strong policies in place to prevent artificial intelligence [AI] from making mistakes.
“Then on the other side, there’s the human check factor,” he said. “We want to fact check. We want to use it to support investigations, not to solve crime. So, the human element is important.
“It’s important that we get it right. We understand that. That the tool is powerful. The technology’s powerful. But we still need responsible individuals in our workforce to use it in a proper way.”
