Geneva residents who want to know what their police station looks like from the inside can now sign up for a tour to see it, as the city looks to educate voters on the facility’s operational issues in advance of a March bond referendum that would help pay for a new police building.
In the March 17 primary election, Geneva voters will be asked whether the city should issue $59.4 million in bonds to pay for a new police station. So, in the lead-up to the election, the city is offering residents tours of the current facility.
The idea for a bond referendum question that would help pay for public safety facilities in Geneva is not new. The city had been planning to put the question to voters in last April’s election, but the measure was ultimately pulled from the ballot after the city discovered a calculation error that would have doubled the projected property tax payment.
But the Geneva City Council has since revisited the idea, and is now moving forward with putting the matter to residents in March.
Geneva’s current police station is located just off the Fox River at 20 Police Plaza, and is a conglomeration of three buildings built in 1915, 1953 and 1987, according to the city. The building previously housed the police department, fire department and Tri-Com Central Dispatch, but the latter two entities have since gotten their own facilities. It currently houses the city’s finance department as well as the police department.
Earlier this year, the city adopted a facilities master plan, which identified a new police station as a top priority. City staff previously pointed to issues like a lack of office space, flooding, sewer back-ups and a partial roof collapse at the current police station.
If the March referendum question is approved, the city would build a new station on city-owned property on South Street, adjacent to the city’s Public Works facility, replacing two city-owned and maintained baseball fields. According to a preliminary schedule, the new facility — should the referendum question be approved — could be completed in 2028. The city intends to sell the existing police station property if the bond measure is approved.
On a tour of the facility on Monday, Geneva Police Chief Eric Passarelli and Deputy Chief Matt Dean showed how the department currently operates in the space.
Some of the issues they pointed to concern space constraints — like how a lack of sufficient space in the investigations room leads to them sometimes using the squad room, which is used for roll call, for larger meetings, Dean explained. The squad room also holds officers’ equipment, Passarelli explained, which can create difficulty during shift changes as officers are coming and leaving.
Geneva Police Chief Eric Passarelli, left, and Deputy Police Chief Matt Dean talk about the limited size and functionality of the current squad room during a tour of Geneva’s current police headquarters on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (Mark Black/For The Beacon-News)
And the top floor — which was used by the fire department until the 2000s and now houses the police department’s evidence areas — lacks sufficient spaces for processing electronic devices, Passarelli explained. Space constraints also means staff working in evidence have to work among the materials, the police staff explained, rather than having a dedicated office.
The layout of the current police facility also means individuals who are brought into the department to be booked either have to be walked through portions of the building or taken outside and then back through the lobby to get to certain areas like the primary interview room, Dean noted on Monday.
It’s a similar problem with the building’s sallyport, which is where individuals who are brought into the police department typically enter the building. In instances where an individual needs medical attention, the space doesn’t allow a fire truck or ambulance to enter completely, Passarelli explained, meaning the individual has to be walked out to the emergency vehicle.
“It certainly creates some security concerns for us,” Passarelli explained about the current set-up.
It’s also an issue for the individuals themselves, he explained, as this layout creates a lack of privacy.
“While the inmates made poor choices, they still deserve dignity,” Passarelli said. “And you have a hotel, you have all these businesses, you know people walking by looking at what’s going on out there, it’s not a great situation.”
As for the building itself, it’s prone to leaks and flooding, the police staff explained.
“It’s just not what you want to do, have your officers … mopping up water while it’s pouring outside and you know that they have calls for service,” Passarelli said on the tour on Monday.
Parking is another issue: currently, the department doesn’t have enough indoor parking for all of its squad cars, and the existing building’s garage makes it so that a squad car can get blocked in by another one.
Some of the equipment in the squad cars — like radios and defibrillators — are weather-sensitive, Passarelli noted. There’s also the challenge of on-duty officers having to scrape off their cars in inclement weather if the cars are left outside, the police leaders explained. Among the changes the new facility is set to have is indoor parking for squad cars.
An improved facility would improve how officers serve the community, Passarelli said, especially as the profession changes in terms of things like the technology used in law enforcement. He also pointed to an updated facility as a potential draw for recruiting officers, particularly during a time when recruiting and retaining officers is difficult.
Police officials don’t see the proposed new location — which would be west of the downtown area — as a problem for response times, Passarelli said. He pointed to traffic around the existing location right off the Fox River as currently delaying responses at times.
With regards to the referendum question itself, Passarelli noted that, since Geneva is not currently a home rule municipality, the city’s options for funding the new station are limited.
“I think it’s one of the only options that’s available to the city right now,” Passarelli said Monday of the bond referendum.
The current Geneva Police Department headquarters is at 20 Police Plaza near the Fox River. Residents in March will vote on a referendum question to let the city issue $59.4 million in bonds to help fund a new police station. (Mark Black/For The Beacon-News)
Being a home rule municipality allows local governments more flexibility in lawmaking, as the Illinois constitution allows them to essentially exercise any power not specifically limited by the state.
An Illinois municipality with a population of more than 25,000 automatically receives home rule status, according to the state constitution. Geneva’s population currently stands at a little over 21,000, per the most recent available U.S. Census Bureau figures.
Beyond March, the city is also considering putting the question of changing its status to home rule to voters in a future election. Doing so would create other funding options for the city, city staff has previously explained: allowing the city to issue bonds for facility improvement projects separately and over time, rather than through a single referendum, as well as allowing it to access new sources of revenue, like business licenses and impact fees on new development.
But, in the meantime, the city is proceeding with the bond referendum to fund the new police station project.
As for the tours, they’ll be happening on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays during the daytime, Wednesday evenings and on select Saturdays this winter, according to the city. Residents can register on the city’s website.
They’ll be led by Passarelli, with help from other police staff members, according to a news release from the city. Participants will meet in the lobby of the current facility at 20 Police Plaza in Geneva for the tours, which will last for 45 minutes.
The city is also preparing a sort of virtual tour, Passarelli said, and will be holding town hall meetings to inform community members and allow them to ask questions about the referendum question in advance of the election, which will take place on March 17, with early voting starting at some sites in February.
According to the city, the property tax impact the approval of the referendum question would have on an average Geneva household would be about $272 annually. The city created an online calculator on its website at www.geneva.il.us for residents to determine the estimated property tax impact they would see if the referendum question is approved, based on the value of their homes.
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/01/13/geneva-police-station-tours-bond-referendum-march/
