FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS, Ill. (AP) – A law enforcement task force has started a tip line to collect information about public corruption in Southern Illinois.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois Donald Boyce and St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly say the phone number will be advertised on billboards.

The task force investigates possible corruption by elected officials or public employees in the 38 counties that make up the Department of Justice’s Southern District of Illinois. It includes representatives of the FBI, Illinois State Police and IRS Criminal Investigations.

Kelly says prosecution of corruption has increased greatly in the area over the past five years. He says trust in public institutions is low and “we must do everything we can to protect it from those who would violate it.”