Their arrest authority is exactly the same as that of a local police officer. However, the job of Illinois park district law enforcement officers is usually a little quieter than their local non-park district counterparts. But not as much as you may think. Park police agencies are responsible for many law enforcement activities which occur in their jurisdictions. First, let's examine the special events aspect of park law enforcement.
Most districts host special events throughout the year, designed to attract people to a given area.
They may involve a large number of people for a short time period or smaller numbers for a longer period. Either way, the park district police department is required to provide traffic control and enforcement as well as security, which large amounts of people and personal property always call for. Next, there is routine patrol. The activity level for routine patrol of any given park district law enforcement agency will usually mirror that of the local agency that surrounds most of its park property. Thus, if a park area is surrounded by a high crime area, you can expect some of that high crime attempting to seep onto park property.