AGRICULTURE CHIEF'S SON ARRESTED IN METHAMPHETAMINE RAID

SPRINGFIELD --- A methamphetamine raid has led to the arrestof the son of
the Illinois Department of Agriculture, authorities say.

Christopher Hampton, 30, of rural Shelby County, was arrested Friday by
state and federal agents who were searching the home of another man accused
of manufacturing the illegal drug.

Hampton was accused of supplying chemicals from the family farm for drug
production.

Methamphetamine can be made from over-the-counter products such as cold
medicine and household cleaners. Anhydrous ammonia - a common though
dangerous farm chemical - is another ingredient.

Hampton and 43-year-old George Songer, who was also arrested, were brought
to U.S. District Court in Springfield, where they were told that federal
prosecutors will be seeking felony charges of conspiring to manufacture and
the manufacturing of a controlled substance.

Joe Hampton, who was appointed state agriculture director in January by
Gov. George Ryan, sat with his wife Anne, in the second row of the
dourtroom during the half-hour hearing. He wept as his handcuffed son was
led away, patting him on the shoulder as he passed.

"We love our son very much" Joe Hampton said later. "We don't believe this
is happening."

He declined further comment.

An affidavit supplied by the U.S. attorney's office contends that
Christopher Hampton was supplying Songer with anhydrous ammonia from tanks
on the Hampton family farm. In exchange for the chemical, Songer would give
Hampton an eighth of the methamphetamine produced.

Both Christopher Hampton and Songer are scheduled to be in federal court
Tuesday morning for a hearing to determine wether they can be released on
bail while the case proceeds. Opinions expressed herein are strictly my own
and may or may not represent my views at this particular time or any other