LOCAL METH COMPLIANCE CHECK CONDUCTED

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

€Nearly half (49 percent) of the stores that do sell meth precursors
are fully compliant with the restrictions, up from just 12 percent in May.

As compliance with the restrictions on sales of meth precursors has
increased, the number of meth labs has dropped. The number of meth
labs seized by the ISP fell by nearly half (47 percent) during the
third quarter of 2006, when ISP seized 136 labs, compared to the
third quarter of 2005, when ISP seized 257 labs.

"By taking away the one thing meth makers need to concoct their
deadly brew, pseudoephedrine, we've made it much more difficult for
those criminals. As a result, every Illinois resident is safer," said
Madigan. "While there is more work to be done, law enforcement
officials, retailers, and members of the public should be proud of
their efforts to make these restrictions work," Madigan added.

"The Illinois State Police Meth Response Teams will continue to work
diligently to restrict access to methamphetamine precursors by those
with illicit intentions," said Director Trent. "We are encouraged to
see that our combined efforts to curb the spread of methamphetamine
are paying dividends."

The sweep, conducted during a ten-day period between October 10 and
19, focused on the effectiveness of the Methamphetamine Precursor
Control Act, which took effect January 15, 2006. The law makes
pseudoephedrine and ephedrine - both key ingredients in meth -
"schedule V controlled substances." It requires that all single and
multi-active ingredient products, tablets, liquids and gel caps be
placed behind the counter. Although customers wishing to purchase
such products do not need a prescription, they must display a photo
ID and sign a log.

Madigan proposed the measure, which was introduced in the House by
State Rep. John Bradley and in the Senate by State Sen. William Haine.

During the sweep, investigators from Madigan's office and the ISP
divided the state into the seven ISP investigative zones and visited
354 convenience stores across the state. Of the 354 convenience stores visited:

€286 (81 percent of the total) did not sell meth precursors at all;

€33 stores (9 percent of the total) sold meth precursors and complied
with the law; and

€35 stores (10 percent of the total) sold meth precursors but did not
comply fully with the law.

As these figures indicate, nearly half of the stores that do sell
meth precursors (33 out of 68, or 49%) are fully compliant with the
MPCA, up from just 12% in May.

For the 35 stores that were not in compliance with the law, the most
common reasons for non-compliance were:

€The store kept ephedrine or pseudoephedrine products on open
shelves, not behind the counter as the law requires;

€The store sold ephedrine or pseudoephedrine products in tablets or
other starch-based forms, not in liquid or liquid-filled capsule form
as the law requires for convenience stores;

€The store sold more than one ephedrine or pseudoephedrine package to
a single customer, violating the one-package limit the law imposes on
convenience stores;

€The store failed to check the identification of the customer as the
law requires;

€The law failed to have the customer sign a logbook as the law requires; or

€The store failed to keep records documenting that employees had
received training required by the law.

In Zone 4, 40 stores were checked in cities like Monmouth, Macomb and
Carthage, Jacksonville, Springfield, Taylorville, Lincoln, Quincy,
Peoria, Pekin, East Peoria, Peoria Heights, and Bartonville.

Sixty percent of the stores (24 businesses) do not sell meth
precursors, 18 percent of the stores (seven businesses) sell meth
precursors and comply with the laws, but 22 percent (nine businesses)
sell meth precursors and failed to comply with the laws.

The remaining zones:

In Zone 1 which includes Chicago and Suburban Cook County, DeKalb,
Sycamore, and Sandwich - 89 percent do not sell, four percent sell
and comply and seven percent sell and do not comply.

Zone 2 includes Rochelle, Sterling, Polo, Mt. Morris, Oregon, Byron,
Morrison, Rock Falls, Dixon, Erie, and Galesburg - 82 percent do not
sell, eight percent sell and comply, 10 percent sell and do not comply.

Zone 3 includes Genoa, Minooka, Morris, Mendota, Peru, Mazon, Sibley,
Princeton, Spring Valley, Coal City, and La Salle - 88 percent do not
sell, two percent sell and comply and 10 percent sell and do not comply.

Zone 5 includes Fairbury, Savoy, Urbana, Champaign, Danville,
Decatur, Bloomington, and Normal - 82 percent do not sell, six
percent sell and comply, and 12 percent sell and do not comply.

Zone 6 includes Edwardsville, Troy, Maryville, Collinsville, Glen
Carbon, Granite City, Fairview Heights, O'Fallon, Swansea,
Belleville, Shiloh, Columbia, and Cahokia - 72 percent do not sell,
28 percent sell and comply, and zero percent sell and did not comply.

Zone 7 includes Benton, W. Frankfort, Marion, Carbondale, Mt. Vernon,
Effingham, Johnston City, Harrisburg, Du Quoin, Pinckneyville,
Nashville - 70 percent do not sell, 22 percent sell and comply, and
eight percent sell and do not comply.

Madigan or Trent did not offer any information as to why Zone 4's
non-compliance rate is more than twice as high as any other zone.