FUNDS TO COMBAT METH USE

MONMOUTH - Area law enforcement agencies will receive some financial
assistance to assist their efforts in the ongoing battle against
methamphetamine and other street drugs.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich announced Thursday that $5.3 million will be
given to 30 narcotic enforcement and prosecution units in 66 counties
across the state.

The funding is from the federal government to help combat the
production, distribution and use of methamphetamine, which is also
known as crank or crystal meth on the streets. The federal anti-drug
abuse act is the law that provides the money to police agencies.

Blagojevich said the money would enable the state to beef up its
efforts to stop methamphetamine on the county level by helping police
agencies who are on the front lines of the problem.

A state law cleared the way for the formation of drug task forces in
1991. During the 1990s the units went after cocaine and heroin
dealers as well as shipments of marijuana coming into the state. The
meth problem exploded in Illinois, In 2001 only a handful of meth
labs seized by police. In less than two years that number swelled to
hundreds of labs.

In 2005 the units:

- -- Made 3,470 drug-related arrests and obtained 2,233 convictions.

- -- Seized 954 clandestine meth labs.

- -- Seized 166,583 grams of meth.

- -- Seized 29,465,964 grams of marijuana.

- -- Seized 1,156,216 grams of cocaine.

Warren County is not affiliated with any of the drug task forces in
the region. Warren County Sheriff Martin Edwards said it is a matter
of economics.

"We do not have the manpower to be part of the drug task force,"
Edwards said. "The state police approached us and asked us to do it.
They said there is some state money to help offset our costs, but it
wasn't enough for me to be able to do it."

Edwards said the people of Warren County are his top priority. The
sheriff's department works informally with the Monmouth Police
Department on local drug cases.

Mercer County is also not hooked up with an area drug task force.
Knox County is part of the Multi-County MEG which will collect $71,179.

The West Central Illinois Task Force includes officers from
Henderson, Hancock, McDonough, Fulton, Adams, Brown, and Pike
counties. The task force will receive $133,389 to help combat meth in
the region.

Edwards said he would like to be part of one of the task forces in
the future if the department can afford to place an officer with the
unit. In the meantime the local police departments believe they are
staying on top of the drug problems.

"Working with Monmouth has served us well," Edwards stated. "Is this
something I would like to do in the future? Yes, but for now we just
do not have the manpower."

Locally the number of meth arrests is down over the past year, which
indicated the local agencies are taking a bite out of the meth market.