East St. louis • Police Chief Lenzie Stewart, faced with the loss on Sunday of nearly a third of his police force, on Saturday rearranged the remaining officers to get more of them on the street.

Stewart said he was reassigning detectives and task force members to patrol duties.

The city is laying off 37 employees — 19 of the city's 62 police officers, 11 firefighters, four public works employees and three administrators — because of budget shortfalls that Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. blamed on the weak economy.

The city has long been plagued with high crime and poverty, and the loss of police officers has many concerned about the effect on public safety. So far this year, the city of just under 30,000 has recorded 17 murders, Stewart said.

Illinois State Police will not be patrolling the city's streets, although troopers will be available if East St. Louis police need help, Capt. Scott Compton, a state police spokesman, said Saturday.

Compton also said that the Working Against Violent Elements program known as WAVE, a targeted collaboration of agencies credited with a drop in crime, will continue for a few more weeks. Illinois State Police also frequently help investigate homicides in the city.

"If anything gets out of control, I'm sure we can call upon them for assistance," Stewart said.

The St. Clair County Sheriff's Department will also respond if officers need help but will not answer service calls within the city.

East St. Louis Officer Michael Hubbard had said Friday that he would be the only officer working the midnight shift after the layoffs went into effect.

But Stewart said Saturday that other officers will be assigned to that shift with Hubbard; Stewart would not say how many. He also would not disclose how many detectives or other officers would be pulled to work patrol shifts, saying it would be unwise to alert criminals to staffing levels.

Declining revenue at the Casino Queen is one reason the cuts are happening. Revenue was $900,000 below budget expectations last year. Efforts to reach a casino representative were unsuccessful Saturday.

Several people interviewed outside the Casino Queen on Saturday said the decrease in police officers would not stop them from coming to the casino. A woman from Granite City who would not give her name said she would continue to make her twice-monthly trips there to play the slots. She said she trusted the casino's security staff to ensure her safety.

"Coming here, I never have felt unsafe, and I will keep coming," said the woman, 54.

But away from the casino, others were worried. Brian Jackson, who works at the men's clothing store Mr. GQ on Collinsville Avenue, said he was concerned that the layoffs could lead to an increase in crime and hurt business.

Jackson, 54, said he believed city workers in administrative positions, instead of police officers, should have lost their jobs.

"The city's already poor. The crime rate's so high," Jackson said. "Why would they lay off the police?"