Allison Janowski
allison@cstrategies.com
PEORIA, IL — Today, the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB) honored this year's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Award recipients for their demonstrations of CIT principles including advocating for mental health resources, crisis response training, and community-centered, compassionate policing.
"These award recipients exemplify the values at the heart of CIT — compassion, courage, and community," said ILETSB Executive Director Keith Calloway. "Their work reminds us that effective policing goes beyond enforcement and represents the future of public safety that we are working toward in Illinois. Making a lasting difference in people's lives relies on fostering connection and displaying empathy to truly serve those in need."
Detective Jamie Shoemaker of the Geneseo Police Department is the 2025 Illinois CIT Lieutenant Aaron R. Landers Award Winner. Since beginning her career in 2015, Detective Shoemaker has made impactful contributions to mental health, crisis intervention, and community support. In 2021, Detective Shoemaker joined the Geneseo Police Department, where she became a certified Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) member and launched the IMPACT (Integrated Model Police and Crisis Team) Program, raising over $12,000 to support community members in need. This innovative initiative provides critical resources to individuals experiencing mental illness, substance use challenges, and crisis situations.
The Evanston Police Department is the 2025 Illinois CIT Department of the Year Award Winner. The department has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to assisting individuals in the community who have mental illnesses and behavioral disabilities through innovative approaches, collaborative partnerships, and officer training initiatives. Evanston PD has made CIT training a priority, ensuring that a majority of its 144 sworn officers have completed the certified 40-hour training, with officers regularly utilizing their CIT training in the field, employing deescalation techniques and crisis intervention strategies to improve outcomes for individuals in distress.
Sergeant Travis Schaal of the Chatham Police Department is the 2025 Illinois CIT Officer of the Year Award Winner. Earlier this year, Sergeant Schaal received recognition for his life-saving employment of CIT training after he used the skills and techniques he learned to deescalate a mental health crisis. Approximately a week later, Sergeant Schaal received a handwritten thank-you note from the woman he encountered, thanking him for ‘treating her like a human being’ and crediting him with saving her life.
Since 2003, ILETSB has provided state-certified CIT training to law enforcement officers throughout Illinois. Participants who volunteer for this specialized, 40-hour training program receive intensive training on assisting individuals in the community who have a mental illness or behavioral disability. This training allows officers to respond effectively and compassionately to mental health crises, reducing the need for force and emergency hospitalization while increasing community trust and cooperation. To date, ILETSB has certified over 20,000 officers statewide from more than 675 agencies in this specialized program.
More than 200 participants gathered at the CIT Conference in Peoria for informational sessions, roundtable discussions, featured keynote presentations, networking, and more. The conference is Illinois’ premier event dedicated to CIT training, mental health collaboration, and community safety.