Ballinger was hired as a police officer in 2004. During his nearly 20-year tenure at Illinois, he has served in multiple leadership ranks and several special units, including as METRO SWAT commander, an instructor on appropriate use-of-force techniques, and as a field training instructor for new officers.

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois — Local police, including the University of Illinois Police Department, are holding a friendly competition as the holidays approach to put meals on the tables of local families. Departments are "competing" to see which can bring in the most food donations, all of which will go to the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. The University of Illinois Police Department (the eventual winner) will accept donations Nov. 28 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at State Farm Center (west circle drive), 1800 S. First St., Champaign. All donations will stay within our community. For those who can't make it on Nov. [...]

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – A shooting at a large house party just off campus Sunday morning injured one U. of I. student and prompted an Illini-Alert emergency notification. At 4:20 a.m. Sunday, multiple 911 callers reported that shots had been fired outside of a large house party in the 600 block of South Third Street, Champaign. Preliminary investigation suggests that two men at the party became involved in an altercation, which escalated into both producing firearms and attempting to shoot the other. One uninvolved bystander, a U. of I. student, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to a local [...]

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – University Police are investigating after an attempted retail theft Thursday morning at an off-campus convenience store resulted in a store employee receiving non-life-threatening stab wounds. The incident prompted a campuswide Illini-Alert notification sent to all students, faculty and staff. Police initially were called at 3:53 a.m. Thursday by a store employee at Circle K, 51 E. Green St., Champaign, who reported that he was stabbed during a struggle with a man who attempted to take alcohol from the store without paying. Recognizing the theft in progress, the employee attempted to detain the offender. A physical struggle ensued, [...]

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois – The University of Illinois Police Department is investigating a shots fired incident that occurred at 10:36 p.m. in the 600 block of South Second Street, Champaign. No injuries were reported. Police initially were on scene in just over one minute after multiple 911 calls from witnesses who heard a series of gunshots. After canvassing the area, officers recovered four shell casings and spoke with several witnesses who heard the shots fired. The incident triggered an Illini-Alert emergency notification sent to all students, faculty and staff. The investigation is ongoing. University Police are patrolling the area, and investigators [...]