When Latina Washington walked into court two years ago she had countless arrests for prostitution, drugs and gang violence. Washington, 44, knew that if she didn't get her life together she would either spend the remainder of her days behind bars or she would end up dead. She had been using drugs to deal with her underlying mental-health issues. But Criminal Court Judge Lawrence Fox gave Washington a third option: She could enroll in the new Mental Health Court program that focused on people, like her, who struggle with mental-health issues and with drugs. [continues 306 words]
The intensive therapy and job skills sessions that were mandated for Anthony Edwards and others with addictions incarcerated at Sheridan Correctional Center make them less likely to get into trouble again, state officials will report Monday. Edwards, now 33 and out of prison, had been behind bars six times on charges of theft, drug possession and other crimes since he was 15. As he became one of 270 inmates to go through Sheridan, the state's only prison for those with addictions, in its first year, he made a promise to himself: It would be the last time he saw the inside of a jail cell. [continues 820 words]
The local drug czar's office will receive a $2 million boost in its budget to help break the link between street gangs' illegal drug trade and money-laundering schemes, federal officials will announce today. The increase in the Chicago High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area's budget comes after a Chicago Sun-Times investigation in April spotlighted the dominance of street gangs in illegal drug trafficking and their growing sophistication at hiding and laundering their money in businesses, casinos and other enterprises. [continues 363 words]
People who drive into the city to buy drugs will not only face jail time but now could lose their cars and driver's licenses under a new crackdown to be announced today by Cook County prosecutors and police. The state's attorney's office began sending letters Wednesday to school superintendents in the six-county region, asking them to warn students that if they head to the city for drugs and get caught, they might be hoofing it back home, and the owners of the cars will have to pay huge fees to get them back. [continues 513 words]
Cops call it velocity. The rapid-fire exchange of dollar bills for dime bags. Cash flowing from a drug deal into a bank account under an assumed name. Money being pulled from the account to buy luxury cars, designer clothing and more dope. The high-speed spin cycle that makes dirty money clean. "The faster you can spend the money to buy the dope, the faster you sell the dope, and the more money you make," said William O'Brien, the assistant Cook County state's attorney in charge of the office's Narcotics Prosecution Bureau. "One way to stop the velocity is to throw a wrench into the money aspect of it. Once it gets deposited and the bulk cash is turned into a blip on the computer screen, we can't do anything about it." [continues 4542 words]
Bowing to a declining number of drug cases and to lawyers who have long grumbled about the late hours, Cook County is turning out the lights on night narcotics courts, the first evening trial courts in county history. The late shift was created in 1989 to cope with the explosion of crack cocaine on the streets of Chicago. But the number of drug cases has declined markedly, and officials plan to phase the courts out by the end of the year. [continues 636 words]
Want to get some tips on growing marijuana, look at pictures of scantily clad women or even play some violent video games on the Internet? You could start at the Berwyn Police Department's Web page. The west suburban police department's Web site, which was set up last year, includes some links that are embarrassing the department. At BerwynIl.com the first page that comes up is the Berwyn Police Department, Neighborhood Watch and a Berwyn Police Explorer site. But click on "More Sites Like This"--which runs across the top of the page in a banner advertisement from the host company, fortunecity.com--and some surprises show up. [continues 434 words]
Cicero officials have begun drug tests of the town's 530 municipal employees in a voluntary program that could be the first of its kind in the area. The policy, which began in January, asks all municipal employees, from managers to clerks, to volunteer for random drug tests, said Cicero spokesman David Donahue. Initially, Donahue called the testing mandatory for all current employees. But after being told that legal experts considered manadatory testing illegal, he said the tests were voluntary. "It's a good idea to ensure a drug-free environment for any municipality or a government agency," Donahue said. [continues 271 words]
