COUNCIL PANEL OKs CRACKDOWN ON RAVE PARTIES

Illicit warehouse parties with designer drugs that have become the
"rave" among teenagers would have to be licensed or everyone from the
building owner to the disc jockey would face $10,000 fines, under a
crackdown approved Wednesday by a City Council committee.

"There are date rape drugs. There is nitrous oxide. . . . We've heard
all the horror stories about young people ingesting these things. They
don't even know what they're ingesting half the time. We're trying to
save lives," said Ald. Jesse Granato (1st), whose fast-growing ward
has been the scene of rave parties.

New tools are needed to target illicit parties that stay one step
ahead of police, according to Shakespeare District Sgt. Tim Edeling.
Last year, Edeling found a 15-year-old passed out behind a tank of
nitrous oxide at a rave party.

"A lot of these, we stumble upon. They're word of mouth, or we get a
phone call about loud noise. The beat car goes over there and sees a
big party going on, but by the time we get enough responding units,
they disappear," Edeling said.

"The drugs are dangerous. The fire issues are dangerous. There's only
one way out of a lot of these places. They have hot lights and fabric
riveted to the ceilings. They sell balloons with nitrous oxide and
other flammable materials. There could be a flash fire. It could be
deadly."

For years, Chicago teenagers have been paying anywhere from $5 to $25
to attend underground raves, which usually start in the wee hours and
can last until 10 a.m.

Last winter, Chicago police started finding teenagers unconscious at
such parties as designer drugs like Ecstasy have gained in popularity
across the city. Ecstasy, GHB and nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, are
now the drugs of choice at raves.

On Wednesday, the City Council's License Committee advanced an
ordinance to cast the broadest possible net over those who make a fast
buck at the expense of kids.

Co-sponsored by Granato and Ald. Ted Matlak (32nd), the legislation
would require the "owner, lessee or manager" of the property used as a
party site to first obtain a public place of amusement license.

If an unlicensed party is held, everyone from the owner, lessee and
manager to the party producer, presenter and "person conducting the
amusement" would face fines as high as $10,000.

The disc jockey provision is particularly important because he's the
least mobile of the bunch, Edeling said. "The DJ really can't leave
because he has thousands of dollars worth of equipment tied up there.
So we have a captive audience.

"A lot of these bigger events will fly their DJs in from around the
country," Edeling said. "They're the draw. They're the headliners who
bring the kids out. If DJs know it's dangerous to come to Chicago
because you could face up to a $10,000 fine, they may think twice
about coming here."

Matlak said he's particularly sensitive to rave dangers because a high
school classmate died from exposure to nitrous oxide. "Now, you've got
100 people with diminished capacity ingesting potentially poisonous
materials. What happens if somebody goes down?" he said.