NORMAL -- Only 21 police departments in Illinois received some of $1 billion the Department of Justice awarded this week for Community Oriented Policing Services programs - and none were from Central Illinois.

Police departments from Normal, Bloomington, Farmer City, Washington, Deer Creek, Streator, Wenona, Paxton, Tremont, Clinton, Hudson, Eureka, Morton, Colfax, Gibson City and Danvers, and McLean and Tazewell county sheriff's police were among the 7,200 nationwide that applied for the grant money.

Illinois departments receiving money included East St. Louis, Chicago, Rockford, Danville, Carbondale and Rantoul. Choices were based on fiscal need and the crime and community policing index.

Tazewell County sheriff's police and Bloomington police narrowly missed out on the money, ranking 25th and 27th respectively. Normal Police Department was 85th.

"It's bittersweet," said Normal Police Chief Kent Crutcher. "We don't get picked because we're in better shape than the rest of the state."

Normal and Bloomington each wanted the money to hire six police officers.