As a master sergeant, acting lieutenant and operations officer for the Illinois State Police, J.W. Price oversees the Executive Protection Unit while organizing and participating in the daily protective schedule of Illinois and visiting dignitaries. He also serves on the Illinois State Police Crisis Negotiations Team as an FBI-certified hostage negotiator.
Price has been with the Illinois State Police since 2006. Prior to his recent promotion to master sergeant, he served on the full-time SWAT team, and later, took a leave of absence to serve in the U.S. Secret Service as a special agent in Los Angeles. Following his 2011 return to the Illinois State Police, he was assigned to the Executive Protection Unit. A veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves, his promotions through the academy represent his leadership and dedication to the job, his co-workers and the citizens of Illinois, as he strives to maintain the “Mission, Men, then Me” mentality.
Price dedicates his time to the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board, a state agency that maintains professional training standards for all law enforcement and correctional officers in the state. A regular volunteer and speaker for organizations like the Boy Scouts, Kiwanis and ASIS, an international educational organization for security professionals, Price recently mentored a local Boy Scout with his Eagle Scout project, serving as master of ceremony at his Eagle Scout Court of Honor. An Eagle Scout himself, Price was named Marine of the Year for the 6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th FSSG in 2001 and earned the Illinois State Police Lifesaving Award in 2016. He is also a recent graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command.
Earlier this year, Price was elected mayor of El Paso after having served as an alderman for four years. He also assists his wife with her business, Ethos Tactical LLC, a private security contractor agency and fingerprint vendor agency. iBi
