• Director Brendan F. Kelly

Brendan F. Kelly was appointed by Governor JB Pritzker and confirmed unanimously by the Illinois Senate to serve as the eighth Director of the Illinois State Police in 2019. As Director, Kelly leads a public safety agency of nearly 3,000 employees and seven unique divisions including the Divisions of Criminal Investigation, Patrol, Forensic Services, Justice Services, Academy and Training, Statewide 911, and Internal Investigation.

Director Kelly oversees the operations and policy of statewide criminal investigations of violent crime, drug and gun trafficking, public corruption, and child exploitation; special operations including SWAT, air operations, federal task force officers and Illinois’ homeland security fusion center, STIC (Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center); criminal interdiction and traffic patrol functions; statewide crime scene investigations and forensic laboratories providing forensic services to all law enforcement agencies including Chicago PD for all forensic disciplines; 22 drug enforcement task forces; Illinois’ central repository for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System and CJIS; training of state police cadets and local law enforcement recruits; implementation of Next Generation 911; and internal investigations of criminal misconduct by all Illinois executive branch employees. Director Kelly also serves on the Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, the board of Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), the Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association, the Illinois Terrorism Task Force, and the Joint Analysis Center.

As Director, Kelly has focused on rebuilding the Illinois State Police as the agency approaches its centennial. Director Kelly has sworn in more than 400 new troopers, initiated long needed changes to the firearms background process and enforcement of firearms safety after the Henry Pratt shooting in Aurora and the Independence Day shooting in Highland Park, expanded the ISP’s officer wellness and support services with a federal grant from the Department of Justice, established a special investigative unit (SIU) focused on public corruption, and begun the massive effort to improve turn-around-time of forensic testing resulting in a 60% reduction in total backlog so far. Under Director Kelly, use-of-force policies, training, technology, and resources have been brought into the 21st century. With the strong bi-partisan support of the Governor and the General Assembly, $120 Million is being invested in state police infrastructure over the next five years. Along with investing in digital forensics and improvements to recruitment and diversity, Kelly is an instructor at the Illinois State Police Academy and Special Agent School, as well as a proud graduate of the ISP DCI Special Agent School.

Working with federal, state and local law enforcement and homeland security partners, Director Kelly has led the statewide law enforcement response to COVID-19, 2020 civil unrest, and 2020 election-related security. Kelly is also a member of the First Responder Suicide Task Force, chair of Illinois’ Move Over Task Force and the Governor’s Forensic Sciences Commission, and oversees the state law enforcement role in cannabis regulation.

A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Saint Louis University School of Law, Kelly has had a wide range of experience with law enforcement and public safety. As a young man, Kelly volunteered with a non-profit group that worked with law enforcement, combating child prostitution in Calgary, Alberta. During his military service as an officer in the United States Navy, Kelly conducted research on Israeli-Palestinian joint police patrols and was awarded two Navy Achievement Medals and a Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.

Kelly was a prosecutor and an elected State’s Attorney for eight years prosecuting every level of crime from gun crimes and drug trafficking to crimes against children and heinous murders, serving as president of the Illinois State’s Attorney’s Association as a member of the National District Attorneys Association Board of Governors. Kelly was appointed by Governor Pat Quinn to the Illinois Juvenile Justice Commission, was appointed by Governor Bruce Rauner to the Illinois Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform Commission, and was appointed by Governor JB Pritzker to the Illinois Hate Crimes Commission. He and the Attorney General of Illinois co-chaired the Illinois Sexual Assault Law Enforcement Working Group. Kelly also served as a non-governmental observer for the National District Attorney’s Association at the Guantanamo military tribunal prosecutions of terrorism.

Kelly received an Illinois Mothers Against Drunk Driving Hero Award and received an award from the Southern Illinois Law Enforcement Commission and Southern Illinois Police Chief's Association for his efforts at fighting crime. Kelly comes from a family of law enforcement and military service. Kelly is a member of the Illinois State Police Command Officers Association, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, and the IACP Homeland Security Committee. Kelly was also selected to be part of FBI NEI 44. He is married to an oncology nurse and has two sons.

• First Deputy Director Rebecca Hooks

Rebecca Hooks currently serves as the First Deputy Director (FDD) and is accountable for the entire operations of the Illinois State Police. FDD Hooks has the distinction of being the first female FDD in this history of ISP. FDD Hooks has over 21 years of experience as an Illinois State Police (ISP) officer. In 2002, she joined the ISP ranks as a member of Cadet Class 105. Upon graduating from the ISP Academy in Springfield, FDD Hooks was assigned to District 15 Patrol. In 2006, she transferred to the Crime Scene Services Command (CSSC) in Sterling where she was assigned as a crime scene investigator. In 2011, she was promoted to Sergeant. In 2015, she became the CSSC Quality Assurance Administrator and was promoted to Master Sergeant. In 2018, she was promoted to Lieutenant and oversaw the three northern crime scene regions. In 2020 she was promoted to Captain and became the statewide commander of CSSC. In 2021, she was appointed to Lieutenant Colonel of the Division of Forensic Services. In 2022, she was appointed to serve as Chief of Staff in the Office of the Director. She was appointed by Director Brendan Kelly to serve as First Deputy Director in 2023.

FDD Hooks has a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Illinois University. In addition, she has obtained her Certified Crime Scene Investigator and Certified Bloodstain Pattern Analyst certifications through the International Association of Identification. FDD Hooks is also a graduate of the Governor’s Office Academy of Leadership.

• Colonel Kelly J. Walter
• Chief of Staff

Colonel Kelly Walter was appointed Chief of Staff in the Office of the Director in 2023. Colonel Walter previously served as Deputy Director for the Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator, Deputy Director of the Division of Administration, and Assistant Deputy Director of the Division of Administration, as well as holding positions in the Logistics Bureau, Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center, and the Illinois State Police Legal Office.

Colonel Walter is a graduate of the University of Illinois – Springfield, holding a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. Upon graduating from the Illinois State Police Academy in June 2001, Colonel Walter worked patrol in District 9, transferring to Zone 4 Investigations in 2004.