IL and KY Are Among the Best and Worst States for Police Officers

I'm not sure I can think of a profession that has been more scrutinized in recent years than that of a police officer. With the abundance of body camera footage as well as footage from everyday folks, our law enforcement officers are constantly under a microscope. That coupled with a growing backlash from the public has led to a shortage of police officers recently, so there are plenty of law enforcement job opportunities available. But which opportunities are better than others?

WalletHub.com just released a study ranking the best & worst states to be a police officer - the results of which are great for Illinois and not so great for Kentucky. Here is how the rankings were determined...

In order to determine the best states in which to pursue a law-enforcement career, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key indicators of police-friendliness. Our data set ranges from the median income for law-enforcement officers to police deaths per 1,000 officers to state and local police-protection expenses per capita.

The three main categories, which include several subcategories, are Opportunity & Competition, Law Enforcement Training Requirements, and Job Hazards & Protections.

Photo by todd kent on Unsplash

The Good News - Illinois

The Land of Lincoln scored really well in this report - well enough to be ranked as the 5th best state for being a police officer. Illinois ranked first when it comes to median income for law-enforcement officers.

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The Bad News - Kentucky

The results of this study were not so great (a bit of an understatement) for Kentucky, which landed at #48 on the list - that means there are only three states that are worse for police officers. Here are a few specific reasons why the Bluegrass state is so low on the list.

KY ranked 51st in the Opportunity & Competition category
KY ranked 48th in the Job Hazards & Protections category
KY ranked 49th in law enforcement officers per capita
KY ranked 51st in state & local police protection expenses

Indiana and the Rest of the Country

There is a lot more information in this study, and if you are the least bit interested in law enforcement, I would encourage you to spend a few minutes looking over the data. If you're just kind of curious about how the rest of the country scored, you can just scroll over the map below to see the rankings.

Source: WalletHub

Illinois Town Will Make You Feel Like You are in the Movie HONEY, I SHRUNK THE KIDS

Remember the 80s classic "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"? What's it like to feel like a tiny ant looking up at the giant world around you? There's a small town only two hours from the tri-state that is home to over 20 giant items. Being surrounded by them definitely gives you the perspective of an itty bitty bug.

Lacey Marsh and her family visited the small town during spring break this year and shared her photos with us. She said, "It's a really neat place! And people were very friendly."

For more on the attractions at Casey, IL, visit the website bigthingssmalltown.com.

Gallery Credit: BOBBY G

Can You Solve These Kentucky 'Jeopardy!' Clues?

Kentucky has made quite a few "appearances" on Jeopardy! in the form of contestants AND clues. Can you solve these from the iconic quiz show? Answers appear below the gallery.

Gallery Credit: Dave Spencer

Source: Illinois and Kentucky Are Among the Best and Worst States for Police Officers

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