ST. CHARLES - After a young St. Charles man was found dead on a park bench on June 16, two of his friends were charged with leaving him there to die of a drug overdose. Clinton Eash, 30, and Joseph Estok, 29, each face drug-induced homicide charges in 27-year-old Matthew Thies' death. Both have pleaded not guilty and remain in Kane County Jail. Three children found Thies on a bench behind Fox Ridge Elementary School in St. Charles. He was alive when he was placed on the bench, but died soon after from a cocaine and heroin overdose, prosecutors said. It is only the second time the charge has been filed in Kane County. [end]
As the nation ponders its lost cause in Iraq, it's past time to reconsider yet another misbegotten crusade: America's 35-year-old "War on Drugs." Conceived by President Richard Nixon in 1971 partly as an attack on the anti-Vietnam war "counterculture," like most governmental efforts to abolish sin and folly, it's a complete failure. For different reasons, Democrats and Republicans alike refuse to acknowledge reality. I yield to none in my contempt for the romance of narcotics. Like alcoholism, illegal drugs have brought misery, sorrow and death to millions. Few American families are untouched. Prohibition and criminalization, however, have proven a miserable failure, making traffic in illicit substances infinitely more profitable, enriching organized crime, corrupting governments and police and turning drug addiction into a contemporary plague. The United States now has a higher percentage of jailed citizens than all but a few police states. Yet heroin, cocaine and crystal meth are cheaper and more ubiquitous than ever. [continues 554 words]
Lots of people knew James Wilson Jr., whether they knew him as Jimmy Wilson, Urbana's three-sport star; Rasta James, the reggae promoter; H. Rap Wilson, the radical; or Chef Ra, the High Times food columnist. "If you're from Urbana and you don't know him, you don't get out much," said Maarten De Witte, an old friend who usually called him Jim. Mr. Wilson brought reggae to Champaign-Urbana, set a high jump record that lasted for years, was known internationally for his cannabis-infused recipes and ran for president on a legalize-marijuana platform. [continues 588 words]
Lynsi Donnelly sat on a couch between her mother and her mother's boyfriend playing with a cell phone. A Christmas tree, trimmed neatly with lights and baubles, stood next to the living room's front window in the Hegeler home. Carefully wrapped presents lined the walls along the side, some stacked underneath. For 15-year-old Lynsi, this Christmas is the first she'll celebrate with a sober mom in her new house and in her new life. Her mother, Becki Donnelly, graduated from the Vermilion County drug court program in December – drug-free for 15 months. [continues 1110 words]
Two New Studies Show Marijuana Is Not A 'Gateway' To Harder Drugs Two recent studies should be the final nails in the coffin of the lie that has propelled some of this nation's most misguided policies: the claim that smoking marijuana somehow causes people to use hard drugs, often called the "gateway theory." Such claims have been a staple of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy under present drug czar John Walters. Typical is a 2004 New Mexico speech in which, according to the Albuquerque Journal, "Walters emphasized that marijuana is a 'gateway drug' that can lead to other chemical dependencies." [continues 597 words]
State Legislature Toughens Sentences For Convicted Manufacturers Around 5:30 p.m. on May 4, 2001 then-deputy Joe Halbrooks noticed a man driving away from anhydrous ammonia tanks parked in rural Marine where he was on patrol. The man fled north on Humbolt Street. Halbrooks followed. The pursuit followed Route 143, Interstate 255, Interstate 270 and wound up at Troy Road and Montclaire Avenue in Edwardsville, where the deputy had radioed ahead to have "stop sticks" strung across the road. The triangular pointy sticks punctured the vehicle's right front tire, although the man continued driving west to Second Street. He fled on foot, but Halbrooks was able to handcuff him after he tripped. [continues 450 words]
EAST ST. LOUIS - An Alton man was acquitted on a major federal drug charge Friday after convincing a jury he had attention deficit disorder and did not understand what was being asked of him when he confessed. Victor Wiley, 30, of the 400 block of Alice Drive in the Enchanted Village mobile home park, was on trial this week in U.S. District Court in East St. Louis on a charge of possession of 35 grams of crack cocaine, which could have gotten him a 30-year prison term if convicted. [continues 416 words]
The Issue: US Leads The World In Prison Population Our view: We can't afford the soaring human and financial costs. With scant media coverage beyond an official press release, the U.S. Justice Dept. recently announced that a record 7 million people, or one in every 32 American adults are behind bars, on probation or on parole - an increase of 2 million. Of those 2.2 million are in prison or jail somewhere in the United States, giving us the highest rate of prisoners per 100,000 in the world. Isn't it ironic then that, with so many prisons and prisons so wretchedly overcrowded nationwide - Illinois' 130-year-old Menard prison houses 3,315 in space built for 1,983 - we still can't get a new, $140 million prison open in Thomson? [continues 204 words]
Join 4 Others Charged From Elite Unit A Chicago Police sergeant and two officers were arrested Monday in a widening corruption investigation of the elite Special Operations Section -- bringing the total number of officers charged in the case to seven. Sgt. James McGovern, 40, was charged with official misconduct, and his bond was set at $50,000. He's been on the force for 13 years. Officers Margaret Hopkins, 32, and Frank Villareal, 38, were charged with home invasion and official misconduct, and Villareal was charged with armed violence. They will appear in bond court today. Hopkins joined the department seven years ago and Villareal, 12 years ago. [continues 305 words]
No snitching is no joke. What "no snitching" means is that a lot of murderers, rapists and street thugs are able to get away with their crimes. You'd have to be demented to think that's funny. But two years ago a group of 'hood rats in Baltimore exploited their homeboy rights by getting Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony to appear in a six-minute DVD titled "Stop Snitching." Since then, other street hustlers have taken up the mantra. "Stop Snitching" T-shirts have been sold in Baltimore and Philadelphia, and several Web sites are devoted to ratting out so-called snitches. [continues 659 words]
We don't have a black and white problem as much as we have a black and blue problem. While the race of police officers who have been involved in questionable, high-profile shootings have been black, white and Hispanic, the race of the citizens who have been shot by police have been the same: black. In most instances, those citizens have also been males. Whether we're talking about police shootings in L.A., Cleveland, Chicago, Atlanta or New York, the common denominator has been race. [continues 735 words]
BLOOMINGTON -- Prosecutors dropped charges Tuesday against a [redacted] accused of being caught with 10 pounds of marijuana in his car trunk. The move followed a judge's ruling earlier this month that a police search in the case was illegal. [redacted], was arrested following a traffic stop Feb. 8 on West Market Street. Court records say [redacted] car did not have a functioning light over the rear license plate. After stopping him, Bloomington police patted him down and found 4.6 grams of marijuana in a plastic bag in one of his pockets, according to court documents. A subsequent search found 10 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of his car. [continues 279 words]
I'm writing about Travis Morse's Nov. 17 story: "Defenders, critics assess drug laws in Illinois." Last week our nation lost an intellectual giant with the passing of economist Milton Friedman. In 1972, Friedman wrote an oped in Newsweek magazine titled: "Prohibition and Drugs." Friedman's essay was written before crack cocaine was invented, before methamphetamine was a household word and long before the United States became the most incarcerated nation in the history of human civilization. Friedman also wrote in the Sept. 7, 1989, edition of The Wall Street Journal: "An Open Letter To Bill Bennett." Both of these works are available to read online. Kirk Muse Mesa, Ariz. [end]
In recent weeks, it has come to my attention that the Pentagon is drastically changing its strategy in the war on terror and the war on drugs. Apparently, the Pentagon seems to be consolidating the two. The current policy regarding both wars is an apparent failure. The war on terror relies on drawing out the war, straining the armed forces, leaving the army weak and striving for more forces. The situation has become hopeless enough that a draft has been proposed by a leading Democratic congressman, and will likely be voted upon come January. (You're off to a great start, guys.) [continues 344 words]
How should Freeport respond to the growing use of methamphetamine? During the crack epidemic of the 80's New York City chose the zero- tolerance approach, opting to arrest and prosecute as many offenders as possible. Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was smoking crack and America's capital had the highest per capita murder rate in the country. Yet crack use declined in both cities simultaneously. Simply put, the younger generation saw firsthand what crack was doing to their older brothers and sisters and decided for themselves that crack was bad news. This is not to say nothing can be done about methamphetamine. Access to drug treatment is critical for the current generation of meth users. Diverting resources away from prisons and into cost-effective treatment would save both tax dollars and lives. Robert Sharpe, Policy Analyst, Common Sense for Drug Policy Washington, D.C. [end]
In October 1976, the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in economics to Milton Friedman. At the time, I was working at my first job out of college on the staff of the National Taxpayers Union, a libertarian lobby group in Washington, and my sister was a graduate student of Friedman's at the University of Chicago. Hearing of this connection, my boss had an idea: send me to Chicago to get Friedman to endorse NTU's proposed constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget. [continues 689 words]
FREEPORT - The addiction begins innocently enough. A little brown bottle filled with a prescription medication for some kind of pain is dispensed by the pharmacy and stapled neatly inside a small, white bag. Some patients take the medication until the pain is gone and that's it. For others, that one little bottle can lead to more bottles, in what becomes a never-ending cycle of pill-popping and doctor shopping. Michael N. Martin, 40, of Orangeville, knows all about doctor shopping. He did that, he said, after back pain became so intense he felt a greater and greater need to use more and more medication. Martin, a paramedic, fell off a roof and injured his back in 1996. Surgeries came in 1997, 2000 and 2003. Another herniated disc after that resulted in doctors' recommendations for even more surgery. [continues 1154 words]
The Issue: Drug Addiction Locally Our View: Recent Stories Reveal The True Nature Of The Problem News of the discovery this week of the first known methamphetamine lab in Freeport came as a shock to many, especially given its location on West Logan Street, in a quiet residential neighborhood. Police, though, knew the meth scourge was coming, and by all accounts, they acted quickly and decisively when it finally arrived. For months, they've also been hosting educational meetings for school kids, the community and anyone else who would listen. Their prescience on this matter reflects well on local law enforcement's ability to stay ahead of the public-safety curve. [continues 251 words]
Former Teacher Maintains Claim Against City, Police GALESBURG - A former industrial arts teacher at Abingdon High School who lost her job in 2004 after she was accused of letting students make drug paraphernalia in class has reached a settlement with Abingdon District 217. The settlement dismisses the school district from a $1 million lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this year. In March, Rebecca A. Boswell sued the school district, the city of Abingdon, former Abingdon Police Chief William Robinson and Abingdon Police Sgt. Chris Nagle, claiming false arrest and violation of her constitutional rights. The lawsuit seeks $1 million in compensatory damages and $50,000 separately in punitive damages from Williamson and Nagle. [continues 496 words]
Monroe Anderson makes a passionate plea to legalize marijuana in Illinois [column, Nov. 12]. It is an intriguing possibility. Exciting, even. Legalizing the production and distribution of marijuana would be good for lots of people we haven't even stopped to consider. It would be good for the pickers in the field, who would be able to bargain for fair wages from legal corporations without fear of violent retribution. It would be good for the distributors who would no longer live with the threat of being shot down in the street by the competition. And it would be good for the consciences of those 94 million Americans who have been financing that bloodshed for so long. [continues 99 words]
Drug-involved offenders continue to cycle through the state's prisons at an enormous cost to taxpayers and communities ["Jailing drug convicts costs us billions; Study urges options to 'revolving door,' " news story, Oct. 31]. Illinois taxpayers spend an estimated $240 million per year to house individuals convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, according to the Crime and Justice report released last month by Chicago Metropolis 2020. The fundamental problem is that Illinois sends thousands of nonviolent, drug-involved offenders to prison when there are more effective and cost-efficient alternatives available. [continues 235 words]
FREEPORT - Although concerns have been raised about apparent disparities in the way federal laws penalize crack cocaine crimes when compared to those involving powder cocaine, Stephenson County State's Attorney John Vogt said he does not see such a problem with the way drug sentencing is handled in Illinois. County Public Defender Glenn Schorsch, however, said there are disparities in this state's drug laws. But such disparities are not the same as what exists on the federal level, he said. [continues 623 words]
We want to thank the Freeport Police Department for sponsoring a food drive in coordination with Red Ribbon Week for drug awareness. We want to thank Janet Weber who coordinated the project, and Chief Jerry Whitmore who said it was a great success. They collected 10,650 grocery items which were divided between The Salvation Army and Freeport Area Church Cooperative. It is fellow citizens like these who make this community a great place to live. Through the generosity of students and faculties of Carl Sandburg, Jones Farrar, Taylor Park, Center School, St. Joseph's, Empire School, Lincoln-Douglas and Blackhawk, we are able to continue to meet the needs of so many families who reach out to The Salvation Army each day. [continues 72 words]
The war in Iraq loomed large last week as voters registered their disenchantment during the midterm elections. But lost in all the headlines and nightly news stories about the Republican loss of power were limited status reports on the other American conflict: the War on Weed. In Nevada, an initiative that would have legalized possession of up to an ounce of marijuana for anyone over 21 failed with only a 44 percent yes vote. Las Vegas -- where prostitution and gambling are legal and public intoxication common -- is not quite ready to end the prohibition of pot. [continues 564 words]
Says House Government Is Attempting To Seize Is His The father of a man who has admitted being at the center of a high-profile Springfield-area cocaine ring says a house the federal government is trying to seize from the son actually is owned by the father. Danny J. Sidener Sr. has filed a petition in federal court to try to prove that he owns one of seven properties the federal government contends belonged to his son, Danny J. Sidener Jr. [continues 489 words]
Dismayed that the 2007 city budget proposed by Mayor Richard Daley has no increase in HIV-prevention funding , Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) is seeking an amendment to mandate a $1.7 million boost to fight the disease. The number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in Chicago has increased 20 percent since 2003--particularly among African-Americans and Latinos, according to the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. But there has not been a city budget increase in HIV-prevention funding since then. "Early prevention could have saved so many lives in my community: the white gay male, North Side community," said Tunney. "We need these dollars for the ravaging effects of what's happening in the Latino and African-American communities." [continues 438 words]
In 1996, Webb's "Dark Alliance" series in the San Jose Mercury News connected the CIA to crack dealing in Los Angeles during the 1980s and ignited a firestorm of protests throughout the country. Conspiracy theorists and prominent African Americans demanded the government explain why it had dumped crack into South Central L.A., sparking a drug epidemic that ravaged families and communities nationwide. Within weeks, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the Washington Post launched their own investigations repudiating Webb's reporting. Webb, the papers insisted, had shown a link to a few drug dealers and CIA operatives, but he had failed to prove that the CIA started the crack scourge or that it had dumped "tons" of drugs in California in order to fund it's guerrilla armies in Latin America. The Mercury-News admitted it had overreached and Webb lost his job. It was the beginning of a long fall from grace for the Pulitzer Prize winner who ended his agony two years ago by putting a gun to his head. [continues 676 words]
MONMOUTH - The second statewide check to determine whether retailers are abiding by restrictions on the sale of the methamphetamine precursors, ephedrine and pseudoephedrine revealed that retailer compliance is improving and the number of Illinois meth labs is dropping. However, of the seven zones in the state, zone 4 which covers Warren, Hancock and McDonough counties has the highest non-compliance rate. Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Illinois State Police (ISP) Director Larry Trent said the A.G.'s office and the ISP conducted the first round of compliance checks during the second week of May and found that 96 percent of pharmacies but only 12 percent of convenience stores were complying with the restrictions. On October 10-19, the Attorney General's Office and the ISP conducted a second round of compliance checks focused exclusively on convenience stores and found that: €More than four-fifths of convenience stores checked (81 percent) no longer sell meth precursors; and [continues 862 words]
SPRINGFIELD - Compliance is improving, but about half the convenience stores selling ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products are still not obeying a law designed to crack down on illegal methamphetamine labs, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan reported on Wednesday. A statewide check by Madigan's office and the state police, conducted Oct. 10-19, found 49 percent of convenience stores selling ephedrine and pseudoephedrine products were fully compliant with the law, up from 12 percent during a similar check last spring. Advertisement Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are active ingredients in dozens of nonprescription cold medicines, as well as a key ingredient for manufacturing meth. A state law that took effect on Jan. 15 requires customers to show a photo ID, be at least 18 years old and sign a log before purchasing any over-the-counter medications containing either of those two chemicals. The new law also requires that cold medicines containing any amount of ephedrine or pseudoephedrine be kept behind pharmacy counters, and limits customers to no more than two packages of cold medicine at a time. [continues 727 words]
Williams Signs On: Sheriff Candidate Backs Effort to Sue Members In Court The Republican candidate for Kane County sheriff on Tuesday threw his support behind an initiative to seize gang members' assets in civil court. "By seizing the assets of gang members we will be able to eliminate their ability to operate in Kane County," said Kevin Williams, flanked by top law enforcement officials at a press conference Tuesday at The Centre of Elgin. "As Kane County sheriff, I will make it explicitly clear that gangs are not welcomed in our community." [continues 501 words]
Study Urges Options to 'Revolving Door' Illinois prisons are bursting at the seams with drug offenders, even though violent crime has steadily decreased across the state over the past two decades. People convicted of drug offenses constitute about 40 percent of prison admissions in Illinois, according to a report by Chicago Metropolis 2020, a business-based planning group. The study warned that taxpayers pay about $7 billion a year for the state's criminal justice system -- and called for a bigger emphasis on drug prevention. [continues 207 words]
The Current Sheriff Spoke at a Press Conference on Thursday, Oct. 12 and He Stated, "Kankakee County Is a Safer Place Today Than It Was 10 Years Ago." If this is a true statement, why is he placing such an enormous burden upon the county taxpayer's with the Jerome Combs prison? When completed, this edifice will have an inmate bed capacity to rival Will County's; not to mention that Will County is 6 1/2 times the size of Kankakee, and has out-distanced, out-paced and out-planned us in the field of economic development. [continues 258 words]
A skyrocketing prison population, spiraling drug crime and juvenile crime rates come under fire in a major study of Chicago-area crime and criminal justice published today. Chicago Metropolis 2020, a business-backed think tank, warns most of the 40,000 prisoners released in Illinois this year are "ill-equipped" for life outside prison. "More than half will likely end up back in prison within three years if present trends continue," the group's 2006 Crime and Justice Index warns. A shortage of rehabilitation programs for inmates, the large distances between downstate prisons and prisoners' Chicago-area roots and a massive increase in parolees help account for the high reoffending rate, the report said. [continues 122 words]
ELGIN -- Fourteen-year-old Raul Armenta dreams of becoming a pilot. The soft-spoken Ellis Middle School eighth-grader takes honors geometry, loves playing soccer and -- in his own words -- gives back to the community through community service. Armenta has no time to get tangled with drugs and gangs. "Gangs (are) dumb," Armenta said softly Thursday afternoon when he and several classmates sat down to discuss the negative effects of drug use."I don't think you should listen to someone else ... In gangs you can't go where you want. They talk you into a lot of stuff."This week, schools across the country are celebrating Red Ribbon Week, an anti-drug campaign aimed at educating children of all ages about the dangers of using drugs -- including alcohol -- and participating in violent behavior. [continues 513 words]
MARISSA - A marijuana advocate in Marissa will not be jailed for drug charges stemming from a 2002 arrest. Gene Triefenbach, 43, pleaded guilty in St. Clair County court on Wednesday to a felony charge of manufacturing and delivering cannabis and will serve one year conditional discharge. All other charges in the case were dropped. A conditional discharge allows a defendant to avoid imprisonment, but the state can revoke the order and resentence the defendant if he breaks the terms of the discharge. [continues 222 words]
Red Ribbon Week will be celebrated Oct. 23-27 in the Carmi-White County school system, and this year's theme is "Being Drug Free is My Responsibility!" School officials have released a schedule of events planned during the week. Brownsville Attendance Center Monday -- Team Up Against Drugs Day. Students can wear their choice of a team logo shirt. Tuesday -- Sock it to Drugs Day. Students can wear mismatched or crazy socks Wednesday -- Red Day. Students will wear red clothing. Thursday -- "I can, you can, we can." Students will bring canned food from home to be donated to food banks. [continues 572 words]
GRANITE CITY - Five middle school students were among 10 in Granite City recently expelled for offenses ranging from fighting to drug possession. A District 9 spokesman said the five middle school expulsions, all for drugs, show drugs are winding their way from high school to lower grades. "In my opinion, there is a definite trickle-down effect," said Ron Stern, administrative assistant for secondary education. At Collinsville Intermediate School last week, one boy was caught with marijuana and another with oregano he apparently believed was marijuana. Both students are 11 years old. [continues 175 words]
In a world where the "war on drugs" is a highly politically motivated issue, Mobilizing Activists and Students for Hemp, is working to educate the public about the cannabis plant and to change unjust laws prohibiting the use of industrial hemp and medical marijuana. According to MASH president and senior telecommunications management major, Lawson Cassels, the organization began in 2001. It has continued to expand its membership and its purpose as time has passed. "We're actually in a transitional period at the moment," Cassels said. "We're in the process of becoming a local chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy." [continues 469 words]
Before you can begin to solve a problem, you must admit you have one. And it is clear that, this side of New Jersey, most high school administrators, coaches and other observers of the drug culture are convinced steroids aren't a significant danger in today's society. But the Illinois High School Association is taking a bold approach to the controversial issue of drug testing. In 2007-08, if approved, the IHSA will randomly test boys and girls during the state finals of five sports -- football, basketball, swimming, wrestling and track. [continues 1249 words]
County To Receive $143,000 Grant From State The state wants to help Kane County tackle drugs. Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office recently announced a grant of $143,967 to the Kane County state's attorney's office to help in the prosecution of drug crimes. The North Central Narcotics Task Force, which oversees Kane, McHenry and DeKalb counties, received $139,670. The money is part of $5.3aemillion in federal funds being doled out by the state to 20 drug enforcement agencies and eight drug prosecution units in 66 Illinois counties. [continues 369 words]
I'm writing about Diana Roemer's story: "Federal grant helps counties fight meth, other drugs" (10-04-06). I have a simple solution that would eliminate 99 percent of the illegal methamphetamine labs. The solution is Desoxyn, the pharmaceutical form of methamphetamine legally available in local pharmacies for less than $2 per dose with a doctor's prescription. I say start selling it at local pharmacies without a prescription - with no questions asked - to any adult just like we do with tobacco products. Except there should be no advertising or promotion of the product. [continues 97 words]
FREEPORT - Law enforcement officials say the release of more than $5 million in federal money to fight methamphetamine abuse and its manufacture in Illinois will provide a much-needed boost to regional anti-drug efforts. The $5.3 million grant will be distributed to 66 Illinois counties, state officials announced recently. Stephenson and Winnebago counties will get $119,996 in enforcement unit grants, which will be channeled through the Stateline Area Narcotics Team (SLANT). The joint unit conducts undercover sting and other drug investigations in Stephenson, Winnebago and Boone counties. [continues 420 words]
THE ISSUE: Superintendent showed terrible judgment in posting spoof videos on the school district's Web site after many months of controversy. WE SAY: Richard Mitchell has gotten a raw deal in District 228, but in the best interests of the school district and its students, he should be replaced. The school board ought to follow him. Richard Mitchell, the superintendent of schools in Bremen High School District 228, has gotten a raw deal from the district school board. He's been hamstrung by the board majority headed by president Evelyn Gleason. His initiatives, such as a mentoring program to help incoming freshmen, have been blocked, and he's been unfairly targeted throughout his two-year tenure as superintendent. [continues 618 words]
She Could Get 15 Years In Prison After Guilty Plea Trying to get even with an enemy, a Downers Grove woman decided to plant drugs on her rival's son -- and she enlisted her own 14-year-old boy to do the dirty work, DuPage County prosecutors said. Christine J. Marmolejo, 39, pleaded guilty to a felony drug charge Wednesday in the bizarre revenge plot that could send her to prison for 15 years. 'It was payback time' She faces the hefty sentence -- triple the normal maximum for such a charge -- because she used her son to slip marijuana and prescription drugs into the other boy's backpack at Westmont High School. [continues 277 words]
Museum, Activist Clash Over Pamphlets Pete Guither's attempt to criticize the war on drugs has become a war of its own. When an exhibition sponsored by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration opened at the Museum of Science and Industry in August, Guither showed up with a sack full of pamphlets denouncing the government's anti-narcotics strategy. But soon after he began handing the pamphlets out, museum officials confined him to what he said was an almost deserted stretch of sidewalk. Then a lawyer for the Chicago Park District told him the pamphlets were "commercial in nature" and that he needed a permit to distribute them at all. [continues 698 words]
Random employee tests targeting alcohol, illegal drugs and steroids could hit the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office by the end of the year. Sheriff Neil Williamson said Tuesday the new program should lend credibility to the department. He added that he does not believe there is a problem with deputies using alcohol, illegal drugs or steroids. "The citizens we serve will know that the deputies responding to their calls for help will be clean," the sheriff said. The random drug-testing program was included in the deputies' new contract, which was accepted by the Sangamon County Board in July. At the time of the contract's approval, some of the specifics of the drug testing, such as what company would conduct the tests, were not finalized. [continues 421 words]
A circuit court judge in Mississippi has ordered a new sentencing trial for Cory Maye, a man sentenced to death for shooting a police officer who had broken into his home in a no-knock drug raid in 2001. Judge Michael Eubanks ruled recently that Maye's legal counsel during the sentencing phase was unconstitutionally inadequate, and he is expected to rule later on requests for a "not guilty" verdict or a new trial. Maye's plight is a case study in the problems with drug policing in America, from questionable confidential informants to invasive paramilitary tactics, overworked and underfunded defense attorneys, and how all of the above seem to disproportionately affect low-income people, particularly African-Americans. [continues 803 words]
"Cocaine" isn't for sale in Chicago area stores just yet, but some local beverage purveyors say they won't stock it if it does become available. The controversial energy drink recently debuted in New York and California. The drink maker's Web site claims it will soon be available online via Amazon.com. Several Chicago bars and clubs contacted over the weekend said they had no plans to stock the drink. Tammy Tatos, owner of Gold Crown Liquors, 3425 N. Clark, said, "I wouldn't buy it. It doesn't sound good." [continues 253 words]
Research Targets Overeating, Use Of Drugs, Smoking CHICAGO - Vaccines, the most potent medical weapon ever devised to vanquish deadly germs, are now being called on to do something totally different and culturally revolutionary -- inoculate people against bad habits like overeating, cigarette smoking and drug use. Whether this new era of vaccine research can subdue many of the poor lifestyle choices that are today's biggest threats to health -- causing obesity, cancer, heart disease and other problems -- has yet to be proved. [continues 698 words]
Good for Greg James of Dunlap for telling it like it is (Sept. 22 Forum, "Taking profit out of drug war will ease crime"). Taking the profit out of illegal drugs is the only way to cut down on killings, crime and new prisons. It will be an uphill fight because there are too many big people making big money on drugs. Bill Seele Peoria [end]
Inside Illinois
