Email: thiggins@icc.edu
Phone: 309-251-7803
Office Hours and Availability:
My office hours are: 11 am-12:30pm Monday and Tuesday during the Fall or Spring semesters, or Tuesday 11:30 a.m.- 12:30 during the Summer if I am teaching. During those times, you can contact me at the number listed above. If you call or text me at the number provided above during or outside my office hours, please leave your name, phone number, and reason for calling.
I may see an email before I get a phone message. In either case, I will respond within 24 hours on normal business days during the semesters. It may be longer during the semester breaks.
Current Employment/Public Service:
Professor, Criminal Justice and Legal Studies - Teaching Criminal Justice, Law Enforcement, Legal Studies, and 911 Dispatch students at Illinois Central College
Instructor - Criminal Law and Procedure for the Central Illinois Police Training Center and the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board
Peoria County Board Member, District 7, effective December 2026
Past Employment/Public Service: I began my law and justice career here at Illinois Central College after earning my Associate's degree in Law Enforcement in 1985. And I have racked up a lot of on-the-job experience in many of the things we teach students about today. Early on, it was law enforcement and even some dispatch experiences. Law school opened the door to other opportunities. For instance, for over 20 years I decided municipal court cases in Peoria, East Peoria, Pekin, Creve Coeur, and Marquette Heights. In that role, I heard cases involving everything from assault and battery to property maintenance and vehicle impoundments. I often took sworn testimony from my former students - which was the best part of serving in that role - seeing our students do what we taught them. I served as a Fire and Police Commissioner, hiring, promoting, and disciplining police and fire personnel. I also served as a Trustee for a firefighter's pension fund, giving me a first-hand look at the complexities of one of the most important aspects of public safety work: how we attract, keep, and protect the people who put themselves on the line to serve and protect our communities.
My colleagues have similar career experience, and we share all of these experiences and more in our courses as we prepare students for what we hope will be an interesting and rewarding career in law and justice.
Education:
- Master of Online Teaching Certificate, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Juris Doctor, University of Illinois Chicago Law School (f/k/a The John Marshall Law School)
- Bachelor of Science, Bradley University, Administration of Criminal Justice
- Associate of Applied Science, Illinois Central College, Law Enforcement.
These are the Illinois Central College's current Board of Trustees-approved minimum faculty qualifications for teaching in the following programs:
