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WELCOME TO IDEOA

The Illinois Drug Enforcement Officers Association is a non-profit association, founded in 1989. The association is governed by an executive board comprised of officials from various law enforcement agencies across the State of Illinois.

The association believes effective narcotics enforcement is predicated on establishing viable lines of communication and coordination of efforts among drug law enforcement entities. We strive to provide narcotics enforcement personnel with training appropriate to their mission. To this end, we hold statewide training sessions each year, which in the past, have included subjects such as the Erosion Process and Police Corruption, Courtroom Survival Techniques, Developing and Handling Informants, Undercover Operations, and Clandestine Laboratories.

Our members are sworn law enforcement officers spanning the entire State of Illinois who are tasked with enforcing narcotics laws and protecting the public from drug offenders. We support those officers in their mission to make Illinois a safer state for all its citizens.

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A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

For the last 25 years, the IDEOA has strived to bring quality training and professionalism to the officers conducting narcotics enforcement. In doing so, IDEOA has been at the forefront of the training which has produced many of the leaders in our profession today. That commitment to training and excellence will never change or waiver. The need for narcotics enforcement has not changed. The need to protect our citizens from those who choose to distribute the poison in our communities and to commit violent acts has not changed. Today’s law enforcement is often tasked with providing data to prove the necessity of our profession. It is difficult to quantify the impact of proactive narcotics enforcement when we in our profession realize that illicit drug sales and its use hugely impact all other forms of crime.

 

Over the last several years, we have seen significant attacks on our profession, our character and our mission to the communities in which we serve. These attacks were spurred by special interest groups, uninformed elected officials and unethical journalists, using society’s tragedies for their own agendas and perpetuating this rhetoric to fuel the social fire that surrounds us today.

 

While enduring this brutal attack, opiate deaths have climbed to new heights, violence in our communities has become commonplace and many would rather us sit back and allow narcotics traffickers to move freely around our nation and into our communities, spreading this poison and violence for profit.

 

This unrest has made us take a hard look at our profession, our tactics and our responses. What has not changed? Our commitment to our jobs, our communities and our conviction in our belief that our mission is true in nature. Because of this, our profession has become, STRONGER, SMARTER, WISER and now more than ever we are embracing BROTHERHOOD, HONOR and LEADERSHIP. We now value the impact of officer wellness in order not to let this negativity infiltrate into our personal lives and permeate into our families. As narcotics officers, when things go wrong, we find a way to develop a stronger determination; when laws change, we develop new intuitive strategies and we grow together. From this chaos, new leaders will emerge.

 

This is what IDEOA strives to provide. Training and the connection of officers from around the country with one common mission, trading ideas, information and tactics for us all to stay safe with the goal of returning home to our families. Together we do make a difference, what we do matters and the communities in which we serve will be a safer place to live because of our sacrifices and the sacrifices of those who have come before us.

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WinslowSignature_edited_edited_edited_ed

Kevin Winslow, IDEOA President

IDEOA Board Members

Executive Board

Board Members


Kevin Winslow, President
Marc Maton, Vice President
Andrew Anselm, Treasurer
Thomas Jennings, Secretary
Brandon Grzechowiak, Conference Coordinator
Victor Markowski, Executive Director

Anthony Kestner, Immediate Past President

 

 

Shane Catone

Jose Chairez

Jonathan Edwards

Michael Galletti
Brendan Kelly

Alan Knudson

Terry Lemming

Sheila Lyons
Nicholas Roti
Leo Schmitz
Christopher Sullivan

Joshua Wallace

James Winters

​Dant Foulk, General Counsel

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