SPRINGFIELD-- At the ILEAS 10th Annual Conference in Springfield on March 3rd thru 5th, 2013, member agencies voted for a new Governing Board.  The 21-member Board consists of elected and appointed positions.  The elections and appointments are held every two years.  Macon County Sheriff Thomas Schneider was appointed to the Governing Board, but he was also re-elected by the Board members to continue in his role as Sergeant at Arms of ILEAS. 
 
ILEAS is an alliance of over 900 local and state law enforcement agencies consisting of police, sheriffs, and other Illinois agencies. It was created to meet the needs of law enforcement throughout the State in matters of mutual aid, emergency response and the combining of resources for public safety.  ILEAS is a member of the Illinois Terrorism Task Force and operates the largest law enforcement mutual aid network in the United States.
 
In addition to weekly requests for law enforcement mutual aid in Illinois, ILEAS has been responsible for assisting and supporting local law enforcement agencies during deployments of hundreds of officers and deputies to Louisiana for the Hurricane Katrina disaster, New Jersey for Hurricane Sandy and to Chicago for the recent NATO Summit. 
 
The Governing Board consists of chiefs of police and sheriffs elected by their peers from eight regions of the State.  Member law enforcement agencies in each region elect one chief of police and one sheriff as regional co-chair representatives to the Governing Board.  These 16 chiefs and sheriffs are joined by a representative of the Director of the Illinois State Police, two senior commanders representing the Chicago Police Superintendent and one representative each from the Illinois Sheriff’s Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.  From these 21 officials, Board Officers (president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer, sergeant at arms) are elected. 
 
Sheriff Schneider has served as the Sergeant at Arms of ILEAS since 2011. Sheriff Schneider has been appointed to the ILEAS Governing Board to represent the interests of the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association. Sheriff Schneider was then officially elected by the newly seated Governing Board to a new two-year term as Sergeant at Arms.  As Sergeant at Arms, Sheriff Schneider is part of the Executive Committee which provides oversight over the activities of the staff, working with the Board to establish policy and strategic planning. 
 
“Sheriff Schneider has been a member of the ILEAS leadership team for some time.  His experience and knowledge of law enforcement, particularly at a county level are invaluable to ILEAS.  We look forward to his continued guidance,” stated ILEAS Executive Director James Page.