DRUG-SEIZURE FUNDS FUEL PALOS DEBATE

A Palos Heights alderman is asking the federal government to audit the
Police Department's use of drug asset forfeiture funds to support his
contention that, though the city possibly misspent the funds in the
past, the department has used the funds properly.

Ald. Jim Murphy, who heads the Public Safety Committee, on Friday
contacted the U.S. Customs Service and the Drug Enforcement
Administration, which distribute the funds. The money comes from
confiscated drugs, vehicles and other illegal merchandise and is for
police use.

Murphy said he was angered by a long City Council debate Tuesday night
over whether the Police Department should continue to use the funds to
help pay the salaries of community service officers. Some aldermen
suggested it was inappropriate for the department to spend the fund on
such things as salaries, a new police station and exercise equipment
for officers when the city has other needs.

"I am not going to put the integrity of the Police Department and
those programs in jeopardy because some aldermen want to misuse those
funds or don't want to take the time to understand how those funds are
going to be used," Murphy said.

He said the fund has saved the city millions of dollars since
1989.

Until 1997, however, the fund was under the city's jurisdiction rather
than the Police Department's. Murphy contends that money from the fund
helped pay the city's legal fees four years

ago when the city sued Metra to prevent the rail agency from building
a train station.

Ald. Julie Corsi supported Murphy's call for an audit.

"If something's been done incorrectly, let's find out," she
said.

But Ald. Art Phillips said he thought Murphy was requesting the
investigation because he saw the majority of the council was against
his proposal to rehire two fired part-time community service officers.

Police Chief Howard Roseen said the department has two full-time
community service officers paid by city funds and four part-timers,
two of them paid with city funds and two paid through grant funds.

The City Council last month voted to terminate two other part-time
officers, saying they were an unnecessary expense. Murphy asked they
be reinstated because the department already accepted the two-year
$31,980 federal grant in 1998 to cover their salaries. Of that grant,
$7,995 is from forfeiture funds.

Roseen said that if the grant is returned, the city will be unable to
fund any part-time community service officers.

Several aldermen said that the officers' duties, which include running
errands and ticketing parked cars, could be done by the department's
28 sworn police officers, but Roseen disagreed.

"Now the question is do you want a police officer taken off the street
and sent down to the crime lab in Joliet for a two-hour trip, or do I
send a civilian officer, who can't respond to emergency calls
anyway?"he asked.

The council referred the matter to the Public Safety Committee, which
will hold a special meeting at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.