Gov. Pritzker orders flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of fallen ISP trooper

ST. JOSEPH, Ill. (WAND) — Governor JB Pritzker has ordered that all flags covered by the Illinois Flag Display Act be flown at half-staff in honor of fallen Illinois State Police Trooper Corey Thompsen.

Trooper Corey Thompsen, 28, was hit by a driver on East Leverett Road while on duty last Friday afternoon. He was taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, but he died from his injuries that afternoon.

During a news conference on Saturday afternoon, ISP Director Brendan Kelly said, "This is the first, and I hope the last, trooper who I personally administered the oath of an ISP officer to that I’ve lost in a line of duty death. The first and I hope the last Trooper who I’ve seen at the beginning of their watch and at the end of their watch."

According to his obituary, Thompsen graduated from Indiana State University and went on to the Southwestern Police Academy. He worked with the Vermilion County Metropolitan Enforcement Group before attending the Illinois State Police Academy, as part of Cadet Class 130.

Thompsen's visitation will be Oct. 26, from 1 to 5 p.m., at St. Joseph-Ogden High School with a First Responder Walk Through at 5 p.m. His funeral will be held Sunday, Oct. 27 at 1 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church in Champaign. Burial will be in Patterson Cemetery, St. Joseph.

In lieu of flowers, his family has requested that donations be made to a memorial fund set up in Thompsen’s name at any University of Illinois Credit Union branch. This will provide a scholarship to St. Joseph-Ogden High School students entering the field of criminal justice.