COMMUNITIES GET TOUGH ON CRIMINALS

Criminals who ply their trades in the Alton neighborhoods of Hunterstown,
Mexico and Middleton got a message Tuesday from authorities: This is not a
place where you want to do business.

On Tuesday, federal and state prosecutors and local law enforcement
officials announced 39 indictments issued last week by a Madison County
grand jury, most of them for drug dealing and illegal weapons possession.

Last month, a federal grand jury issued two indictments for similar
offenses in the same neighborhoods, which were designated a Weed and Seed
site last year by the U.S. Justice Department. The federal program
encourages residents and officials to work together to revitalize crumbling
neighborhoods.

Madison County State's Attorney William R. Haine said the indictments send
a message that "these neighborhoods are not a good place to do business if
you are selling drugs. The cost of business just went up."

Starting Thursday, when the first warrants were issued, law enforcement
officers from the Alton Police Department, the Metropolitan Enforcement
Group of Southwestern Illinois and other agencies have arrested 40 people,
said Alton Police Chief Chris Sullivan.

Sixteen of the people indicted remained at large Tuesday, he said.

Some of those arrested over the last few days were caught committing crimes
by officers who were looking for the people indicted by the grand jury,
Sullivan said.

The special investigation was paid for in large part by a $200,000 federal
grant that Haine's office received to conduct special prosecution projects
in the Weed and Seed neighborhoods.

The grand jury also issued a report praising residents for joining with
police and city officials to attack the problems in their neighborhoods and
advising landlords to join the efforts by more carefully screening their
tenants.

Those suggestions include criminal background checks and applications for
all people older than 17 living in a rental unit.

Residents of the area said the indictments were a good step toward ridding
the neighborhoods of their problems with drug dealing, prostitution and
other criminal activity.

Bob Williams bought a house in Hunterstown about a year ago with plans to
renovate it and sell it for a profit. Since Alton police officers started
patrolling the area more often, Williams said, he has noticed a dramatic
change on his block.

"I haven't seen a drug deal over there in six months," he said, pointing
toward a vacant house next door to his property.

Margie Cannon, a retired teacher's aide for the Alton School District, said
she was appalled at the condition of Hunterstown when she moved into a
retirement community there two years ago. But Cannon said she also relished
the chance to help improve her neighborhood.

"If more people got involved, this can work," she said. "Senior citizens
will no longer be afraid to walk the streets. I feel safer. I feel like I
can go out at night."