FATHER MOURNS LOSS OF HIS SON

At the time of his death, 17-year-old Joseph Krecker was a recent
graduate -- not just from Maine South High School, but from a
rehabilitation program aimed at ending his drug addiction.

His family was hoping for the best, hoping that he would beat his
addiction to heroin, although they knew relapses were almost expected.

When Joe did relapse and begin using drugs again in June, he didn't
get another chance at recovery; the heroin he took was laced with the
deadly drug fentanyl, said Chicago police, killing him not far from
where he had purchased the drug.

"I honestly believe my son could have overcome his heroin addiction,
even if he had relapsed," said Joe's father, Jack Krecker said. "But
he didn't have that chance because someone put that poison in there."

Krecker said heroin his son took on June 6 contained 54 percent fentanyl.

Last week police charged Corey Crump, 35, of the 1700 block of North
Austin Avenue, Chicago, with drug-induced homicide, a felony, for
allegedly selling Krecker a lethal dose of heroin laced with the
synthetic drug fentanyl.

"The medical examiner told me no one would be able to survive that.
It stopped his heart instantly," Krecker said.

He said his son's heroin use began just six months prior to his
death. The family believes a new girlfriend introduced Joe to the
drug. Krecker said his son showed no signs that he was using heroin,
so the family remained unaware that there actually was a problem
until early April when Joe finally confessed he was using and needed help.

Up until that day, things seemed perfectly normal: Every day Joe went
to school at Maine South and then to his job at O'Hare Airport where
he worked as part of a clean-up crew. His circle of friends didn't
appear to have changed, and the only new person in his life was his
girlfriend. Not knowing that drugs had become part of that
relationship, Joe's parents encouraged the relationship.

It was only later that Jack Krecker discovered weekly cash
withdrawals from his son's bank account, withdrawals he believes were
used to purchase heroin on the weekends.

Once the family learned of Joe's drug use, they put him in a rehab
program, first at Alexian Brothers Hospital, and then at the
Rosecrance Adolescent Foundation in Rockford. He remained in rehab
through April and May.

Just prior to his death, Joe was planning to sign up for a drug
counseling program, his father said.

"The morning I talked to him -- the morning he died -- he was full of
life," Jack Krecker recalled. The two had been talking about college
and Joe's plans to attend Oakton Community College in the fall. After
taking courses there, it was expected that he would transfer to a state school.

"He was a good athlete and a loyal kid," Krecker said. "I read his
letters [from rehab]. I know he wanted to be cured. He wanted help
and he wanted to do good."

One of the biggest problems involving heroin is the ease at which
teens can get it, Jack Krecker said.

"My son told me, 'I could get a packet of heroin easier than I can
get cigarettes, beer or wine,'" Krecker said.

A packet of heroin can cost as little as $10, Krecker said, and Park
Ridge teens visiting Chicago's West Side drug markets are welcomed
and offered protection from drug dealers, he added.

Krecker said parents and teens need to realize drug use is a "very,
very real problem" in the community.

"If anything, my wife and I will be advocates for getting the message
out there , especially to these kids, that this is a real problem,"
he said. "You can't be a casual user. This is just too dangerous."

Krecker said heroin use "needs to be addressed and people need to
talk about it. Sometimes the signs (a teen is using) aren't there."