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Officer ​Badger is a graduate of Lanphier High School in Springfield and Southern Illinois University –Carbondale with a Bachelor of Sciences Degree in the Administration of Justice and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science. His law enforcement career began in 1978 with the Springfield Lake Police Department. Mike continued his career as a Patrol Officer with the Springfield Police Department from February 1980 to 1984. During that time he was attended several specialized training courses from the Northwestern University Traffic Institute.

With a growing part time business outside of law enforcement, Mike left his primary career of law enforcement in 1984 to focus on building his business in Springfield. After 24 years in the private sector an opportunity presented itself for him to re-enter the law enforcement field. After completing the selection process he was re-hired as a Springfield police officer in 2008. With numerous changes in the field of law enforcement, Mike attended the Police Training Institute at the University of Illinois and was awarded the Ervin H Warren Award of Excellence as the Top Recruit in the class of 88 new police officers.

With training completed, Mike began serving the Springfield community as a patrol officer on the evening shift in 2008. He worked as a Police Patrol Officer with various beat assignments until being selected as Coordinator for Sangamon Menard County Crimestoppers in October 2014. He is a member of the Crisis Intervention Team and the Hostage Negotiation Team of the Springfield Police Department and has attended numerous specialized training programs.

Mike with his wife Kathy are the parents of four grown children and a daughter at the University of Wisconsin. He has 6 grand-children.