Mariani was first female Illinois state trooper

She worked for her job with no special treatment. Once there, she was surrounded by men. Along the way, she dealt with plenty of sexism and condescension.

Joanne Mariani was the first female trooper in the history of the Illinois State Police, graduating from the ISP Training Academy in 1963 amid great fanfare. Before that, she had been the lone female officer on the Evanston police force.

Mariani’s life demonstrates courage and determination in her occupation, as well as the age-old dilemma of working women: trying to balance career and home life.

Born Oct. 28, 1924, in Cumberland, Maryland, Mariani married and had three children before a divorce. She eventually made her way to Illinois and landed a desk job with the Evanston Police Department in 1952. She spent three years there as a stenographer for the department’s traffic and record bureaus.

A divorcee, Mariani raised her three young children on her own. That created some conflicts, particularly at a time when fewer women were in the workforce and were expected to focus on home life. Sometimes, however, the issues were less serious.

Early in 1955, Mariani moved up to patrol officer, and her skills quickly stood out. In a shooting match in Chicago, she earned a third-place medal. However, as the Chicago Tribune reported, her “problem lies in keeping [the] medal.”

That was because Mariani’s 8-year-old son, Michael, “has demanded that he be allowed to wear it to school.” There also was competition from her 3-year-old, Mark, who had “just become acquainted with television cowboys and has reached the age when he feels that he has the ‘rights to exert.’” Whether Mariani’s 7-year-old daughter, Linda, wanted the medal for herself was not clear.

Although the battle for the medal was humorous, Mariani’s professional duties were anything but. Regularly, she handled many crimes involving women, children and young girls. A significant portion of her job dealt with the city’s youth.

She also was the city’s “motion picture consultant,” spending time viewing movies to ensure their appropriate nature for Evanston theaters.

Although it sounds simple, it would have been a thankless job in an era when book banning and other forms of censorship ran rampant. But Mariani handled her movie duties well and drew few complaints from the Evanston City Council.

Mariani wasn’t in law enforcement for the money; her pay in Evanston was $530 per month. But like so many others in her profession, Mariani wanted to serve the public.

One source reported that “her desire for a police career fulfills her desire to work with people.”

By the early 1960s, Mariani was eyeing a career move. On May 10, 1963, she entered the Illinois State Police Training Academy, becoming the first woman accepted to the program.

The idea of women in the ISP had just become a reality. In summer 1962, the chair of the State Police Merit Board ruled that women with backgrounds in police work, social work and nursing were eligible to apply for the ISP.

Women who wanted to join had to be from 5-feet-5 to 5-feet-9-inches tall, and between 25 and 41 years old.

The training academy, located at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield, was a rigorous 10-week program with training seven days a week, up to 14 hours a day. Cadets were required to complete 638 hours of study and coursework, including criminal law, accident investigation, first aid, firearm proficiency and public speaking.

Not surprisingly, many did not make the cut; the academy had an average dropout rate of one in seven.

Mariani, as usual, persevered amid the responsibilities of a single mother. She received a leave from her job in Evanston to attend the academy, which posed problems. The other 32 cadets in the program – all male – lived in barracks at the fairgrounds, while Mariani had to reside with a family nearby. Her children remained with relatives in Evanston.

Mariani’s acceptance into the academy attracted media coverage from the Associated Press and newspapers around the state. She wanted no special treatment, and the academy didn’t give her any.

The assistant director of the program said that “other than the fact that she’s female, she’s like everyone else that goes through here.” Mariani was submitted to the same requirements as men, including aptitude exams, lie detector tests and physical examinations.

Despite the demands, Mariani enjoyed the experience. “It keeps you busy going to school,” she told the Associated Press. “It’s very interesting, and they do a very wonderful job.”

She continued through the academy despite personal loss. During her training, one of her aunts, who lived on her block in Evanston, died.

On July 12, 1963, Mariani graduated to become the first female state trooper in Illinois history. The state police job came with a pay cut, $420 per month as a rookie. Mariani was the only woman among the 1,200 people on the force.

True to the era, there was plenty of condescension. The caption of an Associated Press photo of Mariani in training began with the words “pistol-packing mama.”

Media accounts speculated on what, and where, Mariani’s first assignment would be on the force. The AP reported, with sexism evident, that “she will likely be attired in fashionable apparel as a plainclothes officer attached to the state’s crime section.”

Similarly, another AP story claimed that “as in the past, she’ll pack her star in her wallet and her pistol in a quick draw handbag, but there’ll be no uniform with skirts. Her working attire will be what police call plain clothes, although in Mrs. Mariani’s case, they’re attractive.”

A United Press International wire story stated that “her first assignments probably will be as a clerk-stenographer.”

Mariani eventually was assigned to District 3 of the state police in the Chicago area, “as a detective available for special assignments, working in plain clothes.” She was not assigned a state police car. One account states that, instead of a trooper, she was “affectionately called a ‘trooperette.’”

She remained with the state police until her resignation in 1968. Joanne Mariani died July 7, 1992, at age 67.

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.