URBANA -- Three Illinois police departments that previously had no video cameras for their squad cars now have one each, thanks to the Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System Foundation.

The nonprofit arm of ILEAS raised the money to pay for one of the digital cameras; the two others were donated to the foundation by Panasonic and CDS Office Technologies.

The ILEAS Foundation then randomly selected three departments out of about 70 that qualified for the cameras to receive them. Those chosen were the Lake Land College Police Department in Coles County, the Sidell Police Department in Vermilion County, and the Vermont Police Department in Fulton County.

Angela Page of ILEAS said the agency is not allowed to use federal homeland security money to pay for the cameras, but they are among the most often requested items by small departments.

The video camera, the Panasonic Arbitrator 360, is valued at $5,600.

The ILEAS Foundation was formed in 2009 to support local law enforcement agencies in Illinois outside of the standard government grant process. It raises private funds to pay for state-of-the-art equipment and professional training for officers and deputies that are not covered under homeland security, Page said.