ALL-AGES CLUB RAIDED DURING PARTY

Owner Says Business Was Unfairly Targeted

A Springfield woman said she was shocked early Saturday when she got a call
from police saying they had picked up her 15-year-old son at an all-night
party at The Eclipse all-ages club.

She was even more troubled when told that officers from the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration had discovered drugs during a raid of The
Eclipse, 500 Toronto Road.

"The officer talked to me about the fact that the club was a bad place to
be," said the mother, who asked not to be named to avoid identifying her son.

Her son and a friend "had sneaked out of his friend's house and got a ride
there. I asked (the police officer) why it was raided, and he said they got
some tips. I heard something last week that there was supposed to be a
'rave' there."

Raves are all-night dance parties at which electronic, or "techno," music
is played, usually by a deejay. There is a network of rave information on
the Internet.

Raves are also commonly associated with drug use, especially a drug called
"Ecstasy," which provides a sense of euphoria and energy to keep users
dancing for hours. It's also potentially lethal. According to the Drug
Abuse Warning Network, 27 people died from using Ecstasy between 1994 and
1998, the last year for which complete statistics are available.

Because of its popularity at raves, Ecstasy is becoming one of the most
frequently used drugs by teens.

But Eclipse owner John Dedrick said Monday the weekend event was not a
rave, it was not billed as a rave, and he did everything he could to keep
alcohol, weapons and illegal substances from getting into his club. He said
police are unfairly targeting him and his 3-year-old business.

"There was no provocation for this," Dedrick said. "There's never been
problems with drugs here before.

Everyone who came in was checked, searched. We were looking for weapons or
alcohol. A lot of kids carry backpacks, and if they wanted to bring the bag
in, they had to go to a special table, pay a dollar and have it checked."

The party, labeled "The Orgasm," was scheduled to run from 9 p.m. Friday to
7 a.m. Saturday. Two rooms featured techno deejays from across the Midwest.
An estimated 300 guests paid $20 at the door.

About 1:50 a.m., however, a large number of police - according to some
counts, 30-plus officers from federal, state and county agencies - came to
the door with a search warrant in hand.

While Dedrick maintains the event was not technically a rave, one of the
featured deejays, according to a flier that circulated prior to the event,
was Paul Anthony, who, the flier says, "has definitely become a rave hero
in the Midwest."

The flier also clearly states that "no drugs, alcohol, or bad vibes" were
allowed.

However, some people present during the raid said officers did find drugs.
Most were found thrown on the floor, among them marijuana, cocaine and
tablets (Ecstasy comes in tablet form).

Illinois State Police and the DEA, lead agencies in the investigation,
would not comment Monday on what was found or if any arrests will be made.

"The state police are forwarding reports to the state's attorney's office
for review," Sangamon County State's Attorney John Schmidt said. "At that
time, our office will review them and make the appropriate charging decisions."

Dedrick said he saw police gather items off the floor of the club, put them
in individual plastic bags and then collect the smaller bags into a larger
paper sack.

"They had all the stuff set out on a table," he said. "Each individual pill
was in a little baggie, or something.

"I'm sure if you went to Lincoln Land (Community College) right now, you
would probably find more drugs there today than they did here that night,"
he added.

Dedrick is also angry because police effectively shut down his business
overnight Friday, searching everyone, running their names through the law
enforcement computer system and then sending them home or calling their
parents.

He said he paid a total of $4,000 for security guards and deejays.

"They closed my business that night and had no right to, I don't believe,"
he said, adding that the club did open as usual Saturday night.

Normally, the Eclipse, at the former site of the Lake Club II, is open only
one night, from 8 p.m. Saturday to 2:30 a.m. Sunday. There is no age limit
because no alcohol is served. Patrons pay $8 with an I.D. and $9 without.

Springfield's curfew for ages 17 and under is midnight on the weekends.

"If someone's 12, I won't let them in. But it's the parents' responsibility
to know where their kids are," Dedrick said. "I knew where my kids were.
It's not up to me to make them leave."